Moon Sand
by LovelyAngelYuuki
Summary: Six decades after the deafeat of Naraku, gods decided it as time to choose a new victim with whose life they could mess. Unfortunately, the lucky person turned out to be no one else than Sesshoumaru's daughter. How will she deal with being sent millenias into the past, and into ancient Egypt on top of it? Atem x OC
1. To Gain Freedom

**Chapter 1: To Gain Freedom**

I strode through the halls of the castle I called my home for the past half century with my goal firmly in my mind.

The shoji screen on my left suddenly opened, revealing a servant girl coming out.

It was the room I was heading to.

I looked at the girl, cold indifference I inherited from my father showing on my face.

Upon seeing me, the girl bowed, shivering in fear, her muscles straining as she tried her best not to bolt like a rabbit youkai she was. I breezed past the girl, leaving her to her duties.

Just by the fact she had come out of that room I knew the person I was looking for wasn't there. And so, I continued my search.

Finally, I came to my destination. The throne room.

Without making a sound, the guards stationed before the door opened it for me, allowing me to step in.

I strode into the room, no hesitation or second thoughts. Not even when the silver-haired inu taiyoukai and his leopard mate seated on their respective thrones turned their eyes on me.

I bowed, as was required of me, and looked at the regal-looking couple.

The woman was wearing a bloody red silken kimono with a light orange flower pattern and white simple sash. Her hair was blonde, adorned with an orange ornate hairpin, which complemented her chocolate brown eyes with a hint of honey around her cat-like irises. On the top of her head lay two leopard ears.

The man was wearing a midnight blue hakama pants with a white top and a white haori, which had a red leaves pattern on its edges. The man's hair was white, but shone silver in the light, his eyes honey yellow. In the middle of his forehead was a purple crescent moon, which was accompanied by two red striped on each of his cheeks. Unlike his mate, his ears were normal, except that they were pointier than normal human's.

I straightened my back and looked at the two gravely. Taking a deep breath, I spoke.

"Father, Mother." I looked from the man to the woman. "I have come to make a request of you."

I bit my lip, waiting for their answer. _This is the moment. They either prompt me to tell them more or outright refuse it._

"What is it, Miya?" spoke my father in a cold and indifferent manner.

"Father, I want to travel."

My mother gasped in astonishment and my father merely raised an eyebrow at me. "What for?"

"I wish to see the land you rule and people you guide, father."

"You do realize that what you are asking of me is inappropriate for a lady like yourself, do you not?"

My mother was glaring daggers at me, daring me to say anymore. However, I had thought of this more than once and I was not going to back down so easily.

"I do, father." I answered defiantly.

The taiyoukai rose from his seat and closed the distance between us, all the while looking right into my eyes. I returned his stare, not once blinking.

"My dear, forgive her impudence. She is still but a child in mind and her inexperience and inability to find her Mate among the suitors that have come for her is clouding her mind." pleaded the leopard youkai softly.

Her silver-haired mate ignored her words and kept looking at me as if he was measuring my worth. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, but I saw the exact moment he made his decision.

He turned away from me and went to sit back onto his throne.

Sighing and preparing for the worst, my shoulders sagged and my white leopard ears flattened on my head.

That's why I was shocked when I heard his next words.

"Do you hate it here that much, my child?" Sadness and disappointment that were hidden in his words and tone were ten times stronger than normally since my father rarely showed emotions.

That was the moment the audience ended and a family talk started.

"It's not like that, dad." I whispered, knowing he could hear me. Then I went to him and sat down by his feet, patting his clawed hand gently.

"Then why, Miya? Why do you wish to leave your family?" Dad's golden eyes were unnaturally wide, sign that my request had deeply hurt him.

"I have to leave. This environment is making me go insane! The etiquette, rules, lack of action and constant visits of men who want nothing more than gain your power and wealth by getting my hand in marriage..." I let my face show how much the idea of marrying one of them disgusted me and then told him what solution I found. "I want to be free."

My mother sighed, finally understanding why I wanted to leave. It was evident in her posture and the way her alert ears relaxed. She knew what I was talking about, since she, herself was a feline, therefore of an independent and freedom-loving nature.

"I wouldn't ask this of you if it would pose a threat to our lands, but you still have my four siblings. What difference will it make whether I am here or somewhere else?" I continued.

It was killing me on the inside to see my proud father so unhappy but this was what I have decided for myself and I wanted him to see that.

"Let her go, Sesshomaru."

We both looked at my now timid mother. "Mom?" She stood up and knelt down next to me, nuzzling my cheek affectionately.

"Are you sure, Reina?" asked the inu youkai.

"Yes, my love. If this is what she truly wishes for, nothing can stop her from leaving."

"Thank you, mom." I purred at my mother, who gave me a heart-wrenching hug and a bittersweet smile.

"Very well. Miya, you are free to depart for your journey whenever you like. Under one condition, that is."

I swished my white, leopard-patterned tail in curiosity, glancing up at my dad's saddened eyes.

"What condition?"

"You will visit us whenever you have time." finished the feline youkai with the other nodding in agreement.

"Of course I will!" I jumped up to my feet and hugged my poor astonished father, purring and nuzzling his cheek.

"Stay safe." he wished me one last time and I nodded.

Then, as abruptly as I came, I left.

Prolonging our goodbyes might result in me breaking in tears and that was always an unpleasant sight.

Mainly because my demonic energy would go totally berserk.

The same hour, I finished my packing and changed into a more comfortable clothes as I would most likely be required to fight rogue youkais on my journey.

I was wearing a white yukata with black roses pattern on its sleeves and its hem, which reached only to the second half of my thighs. Holding it closed was a deep onyx sash, which I wore lower than is customary so that I could strap my swords to it. To make sure that despite the shortness of my attire nothing unwanted would be revealed, I put on a white short short shorts and a Black thigh-highs. As for the upper part of my body, I bandaged my chest and wore a short-sleeved, tight-fitting man's black t-shirt over it. I tried to find some alternate change of shoes for me, but came up with nothing, which meant I had to wear my usual wooden sandals with white straps.

The biggest change in my visage was that I let my hair down, not bothering to tie it up as was required of a lady.

I lstared into the mirror to see how I looked and was delighted to see that the combination was perfect. Not only did the snow-white yukata accentuate my curves, it also brought out my violet eyes and beautifully blended with my white, waist-long hair. My ears twitched happily at the sight.

_Okay, now the only thing left..._ I picked up my black leather travelling stuff sack full of change of clothes, money, some food and other necessities and slung it over my shoulder carefully, so that it would not interfere with my drawing of my swords if needed.

I double-checked if I had everything I wanted to take with me and then took a last look around my room, trying to etch it into my memory as I would not see it for a very long time.

Only when I was sure I remembered its image down to the last detail did I close the door behind me and left.

It would be impossible for me to leave undetected through the main gate so I've decided to use the secret gate located in the training courtyard on the other side of the castle.

It was a good plan, but I forgot one little detail. That my siblings would be there.

"Miya! What do you think you're wearing?!" screeched my elder sister.

"That's none of your concern, Rei." The said blonde woman glared me, trying to intimidate me.

"Feisty as always, I see."

I turned to see the owner of the voice, only to come face-to-face with my brother. Instantly, I perked up and threw my hands around the elder male's neck affectionately, squealing.

"Kei-niichan!"

The male merely laughed and patted my head, unaware of the blonde female glaring daggers at his back.

"Okay, okay. I love you too, sis. And now, can you answer Rei's question?"

I growled at him for his betrayal and withdrew from him but answered nonetheless.

"I'm going to travel."

Rei's reaction was immediate. "Does father know of this?"

I scowled at the younger of the twins, hissing through my teeth. "Of course."

She narrowed her eyes at me dangerously, reminding me too much of dad for my comfort. "And he approves?"

"Yes. You can go ask him if you don't trust me."

The blonde female swished her golden dog tail in annoyance, crossing her arms on her chest.

Kei sighed and sent a pitying look to his younger twin sister, which aggravated me to no end. _**I **__am the one here who is being questioned like some criminal! Not her!_

He must have noticed the change in my aura because he came to Rei's defence.

"Miya, you know Rei is just worried about you..."

I whined inwardly. Yeah, sure, I knew that Rei is just making sure I won't get in trouble with dad for running away, but she could have done it more delicately. _And not act like a commander on duty._

Knowing what was expected of me, I flattened my ears on my head, turned my gaze to the ground and whimpered as I proceeded to apologize. "I'm sorry, Nee-chan. I didn't mean to sound rude..."

When I was finished with the speech, I turned to look at my sister's face and was relieved to see her usual grin in its place.

"Oh, come here you furball!" she cried out as she wrapped in a bone-crushing hug and started nuzzling my hair.

I purred at the feeling of her familiar hot breath on my ears. _Now this is the Nee-chan I know and love._

We stayed like that for a while, until a sudden thought struck me. Pulling away from the warm embrace, I looked at the twins before me. "Where's Naoto?"

They looked at each other, then at me, giving me that look that said 'You don't know?' in a very irritable manner.

Rei fidgeted with the hem of her kimono sleeve, which was not a good sign.

"He decided to go train to the Waterfalls..."

"What?!" I hissed aloud. _How could he have not told me? _

_On the other hand, I also wasn't planning on saying goodbye to my siblings before I left..._

"We thought he told you." piped in Kei almost incoherently.

Despite him being the eldest (right after Rin-neesama) AND the next heir to the throne of the Western Lands, he was always quite scared of my anger. Not that I could blame him. I DID electrocute him the first time he held me when I was but a cub and it was a known fact my demonic energy got out of control with my emotions.

"Well, he didn't." I spat, my inner demon itching to get out and kill something.

Realizing that being bitter about it wouldn't solve anything, I took a few cleansing breaths and turned my back on the two scared inu youkais.

"Whatever. Just tell him I said goodbye when he gets back."

"We will." they both chorused and I smirked at that.

"So, see ya in a decade or so." I said over my shoulder, waving my hand in air at them and headed to the nearly invisible small gate.

"Good luck!" I heard their shouts and couldn't help but smile wistfully at their hyped up tone.

_Glad to get rid of me, aren't ya?_

With an insane laugh, I steered a bit more to the left than I would if I was headed to the gate and jumped over the high wall instead.

_I'm free! _I thought gleefully.


	2. The Revealed Past

**Author's Note: **Yuuki~desu! Hey guys! I've decided to update another chappie because I felt that the first one simply wasn't enough :) Also, I'd like to point out that this story will be Atem x OC . Sorry if I somehow misled you into thinking it would be Kagome x Atem... Though I like those. This is my first crossover, so I might screw up pretty badly. Please do say if I give some incorrect facts in this story... Yeah and I already have this written up to the chappie 7 so don't worry about it not being updated frequently. Especially now that summer holidays are approaching. ;) Enjoy and tell me what you think about it!

**Chapter 2: The Revealed Past**

Now that I was free, I realized for the first time in my life that I was... screwed. I had no idea where to go. NONE AT ALL.

_That is so like me..._ I sighed, walking further from the wall with which my earliest memories were associated.

Since there was no place in particular I planned to visit, I've decided to go to the nearest village and maybe get some ideas of interesting places there.

I sniffed the air, trying to determine which way to go.

One would think that after studying the map of the Western Land I would know where I was headed to even with my eyes closed, but I was a poor navigator and Geography was never my forte.

I caught a whiff of smoke, blood, death, flowers, vegetables and fresh-cut trees. The unmistakable sign of high human population.

I took a deep breath and willed my demonic appendages to disappear. Though a bit regretful about it, I also made the purple crescent moon on my forehead disappear, feeling unprotected without it.

When I made sure it would hold long enough for me to investigate the village, I temporarily sealed my youki and took off in the direction of the scents with an inhuman speed.

The human village was fairly big considering it was located pretty near the Western Lord's castle and its court. Its main street wasn't anything special but it was full of people and various stands, selling everything from ramen and meat buns to high-quality kimonos and hairpins.

I found it odd, but decided I would find out the reason sooner or later even if I didn't ask. I spotted a decent-looking dango shop and my empty stomach urged to go there. So I did.

The shop vendor was an old kind lady, who, by the amount of talking she did with her customers, was lonely. Even I have not escaped her radar as she came up to me to chat.

"I don't seem to recognize you, young lady. Are you here for the festival?"

"Festival?"

"Oh, you don't know about it?"

I shook my head, my curiosity peaked to maximum. _What could these humans hold a festival for?_

"It is a festival we hold every year in celebration of the priestess of the Shikon no Tama, who destroyed the great evil and purified the jewel."

"I didn't know there was a festival celebrating her victory."

"Originally, there wasn't. But her kindness to both youkai and humans was something we thought would be rude to forget, so we decided to honour her. Nowadays though, the festival is held in many villages of all regions and Lands."

"I see." I knew next to nothing of this festival tradition, but I have heard of the priestess of the Shikon no Tama. Dad used to mention her when speaking of my uncle Inuyasha.

"Why don't you stay for the night? There will be a sacred dance performed by our local priestess. She will also give blessings to travelers who ask for it and I'm sure such a young lady like yourself could use every kind of help. Even with those swords of yours."

"I might. Thank you for telling me about the festival." I nodded at her and left the shop.

_A festival for the Shikon no Tama priestess... _

I would have stayed if I wasn't so anxious to get as far from the castle as I could. Not to mention that if the lady saw me at the festival tonight, she would drag me to get the blessing and I wasn't up for getting purified. It wouldn't fare well in the eyes of my father if I got killed two hours after I left.

The talk I had with the shop owner was however useful. The mention of the Shikon no Tama Quest reminded me of the one person I longed to see ever since I heard about him. Uncle Inuyasha.

Father always called him good-for-nothing, block-head, filth and other things I never thought I would hear my dad say so I've always wanted to see the person who could rile him up so much for myself. There wasn't anything better I could do anyway.

_Now let's ask for directions to Edo._

I glanced around, trying to see anyone who looked at least remotely nice and willing to help a lost soul, but I had no such luck. With a heavy heart_, _I returned to the dango shop and bought one more stick of dangos as I asked the kind old lady for the way.

She was a bit disappointed I decided to leave, but helped me anyway. I smiled at her gratefully and left the shop as if a horde of youkais was chasing me.

_I really don't like talkative people. _ It was one of the not-so-good traits I inherited from my father.

Mom used to tell me that if it weren't for my leopard true form, I would be a bit more cheerful and emotional clone of my father. At the time, I was proud of it. Now... Not so much.

Being like the seemingly cold and cruel taiyoukai certainly didn't make my life any easier. I'd even say it made it harder as I was either feared or made fun of for my emotionless face.

_Damn that childhood..._

Only when I was deep in the forest encasing the village and felt no human presences did I release the seals. I flicked my ears and swished my tail happily and then touched my forehead to feel the familiar warmth exuded from the mark that unmistakably identified me as one of the Lord of West's pups.

_I am me again._ I sighed contentedly. I could go without my ears and tail for years, even decades, but without the mark, I was lost. I never knew why and probably never would. _Not that it matters that much._

That night I camped outside for the first time.

As there was no need for me to cook anything and I wasn't cold, I didn't bother to light a fire. Instead, I climbed on the highest tree I could spot and chose a branch strong enough to not give under my weight.

I hung my swords and the sack on a nearby branch I could reach whenever I wanted to and then I stretched on the strong branch, with my arms hanging down from the piece of wood and my cheek nuzzling it.

It felt most natural to me as I was a feline, though Kei and Rei would flip at seeing me like this, saying something about a high chance of me falling down. Not that I wouldn't understand since they were both more of inu youkais with a few leopard skills than leopard youkais with inu traits like I am.

Naoto, on the other hand, would tell me to move and even shove me to get more room if he was here with me.

I chuckled at the image that formed in my mind and finally relaxed, letting sleep claim me, though not fully as I kept my senses open in case of an attack.

The next day I spent traveling, stopping only to fill my water pouch and eat something. Again, I slept on a tree in the same manner as the night before.

The third day of my freedom started like the previous. I collected all I needed, I had breakfast, went through my everyday hygiene and set out. When it was nearly noon, I sat down underneath a beautiful oak trying to take a nap as it was getting hotter.

I had been asleep for mere minutes when a sound of rustling leaves and a snapping twig awoke me.

My hand immediately rested on the hilt of one of my swords and my eyes scanned the surrounding area.

I could smell a big beast, most likely a feline but I couldn't detect its location. From the fact it hadn't shown itself to me yet, I could deduct it was an enemy so I stretched out my other senses.

A distinct sound of shallow, controlled breathing told me my enemy was on my right just as my instincts told me to jump.

I did so without hesitation, which saved my life as a big white fire neko-mata landed on the spot I occupied only seconds ago.

I growled at the beast in warning and it answered with its own growl, challenging me.

This time when it lunged for me, I stood my ground and let the creature meet my barrier of youki. The demonic energy sent it flying backwards and I grinned with satisfaction as I saw its burned paws.

"My turn." I said excitedly as I let my hand fall from the hilt of my sword and charged at the neko-mata with my own claws ready.

I was about to use the poisoned claws to turn its face into an unrecognisable lump of bones and meat, when a voice sounded through the little clearing.

"Stop!"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a very old woman coming straight at the neko-mata. Its eyes never left mine, but it relaxed slightly from its offensive pose.

"You! Youkai! What business do you have with us?" asked the 80-year-old-looking woman with suspicion and aggression in her voice.

"With you?" I asked incredulously, trying to figure out what the woman was talking about.

"I was just taking a nap, when the kitten here attacked me." I pointed to the being who interrupted my relaxation.

_I wonder if she'll believe me..._ From the way she stood by the neko-mata's side it was clear the beast was hers.

"And why do I not believe that?" she spat sarcastically in return.

"Now, look here, lady. You are obviously prejudiced against youkai, therefore it is pointless to argue with you. So I'm leaving." I started backing into shadows, watching out for any movement from my offender.

"Wait. You look familiar..." I glared at the woman. _Is she trying to stall me? _However, when I sniffed the air, I couldn't sense any lie in the air.

"That mark on your forehead and your hair colour... Are you possibly one of Sesshomaru's pups?"

I stared at the woman, surprised she knew my father.

In the end, I let my sense win over my curiosity. I wasn't about to confirm the stupid saying 'Curiosity killed the cat' even though I wasn't a cat. I was a leopard. "Why do you ask, woman?"

The granny smiled at me as if she won a bet. "Yes, you certainly are his daughter. Come, any close affiliation of my comrades is welcome to our village. Be it youkai, hanyou or human."

I stared at the woman, not getting what she was talking about. _My father was this woman's comrade? How? Why? _

Father's adoption of Rin showed he bore no ill-will towards humans so it was a possibility he knew this woman once upon a time, but still... _Am I going to risk it?_

Sighing, I cursed myself for being so outrageously curious. "What village?" I asked her, resigned, earning myself an amused grin.

The old woman did not say a word as she began walking away with the white neko-mata in tow.

Not having any other choice, I followed after them.

After a half hour of walking, we finally arrived to the village she was talking about.

The woman then turned to me and motioned with her hand at the few settlements on the right before speaking.

"Welcome to the village of taijiyas."

My hair practically stood up, fur on my tail furrowed and I hissed. _What have I got myself into? I __walked right into the village of demon exterminators!_

"Now, now. Calm down. I have not brought you here to harm you. It would be ridiculous of me to invite you into my village, where there are also small kids, don't you think?"

I tried to think past my horror, fear and rage and finally calmed down. What the woman said was true. There was no way she would lead a youkai to her village because of the possibility of harm coming to the young ones.

"Come. We have a lot to talk about and it will take a while." Seeing as the woman truly meant no harm, I told her to wait and turned to the neko-mata.

"I'm sorry for hurting you. If you would allow me, I would like to heal the burns I caused you."

The beast kept looking at me dubiously and I didn't avoid its gaze for even a second. After a few long minutes, it raised one of its paws, landing it into my outstretched palm.

Immediately, I gently wrapped my youki around the burn, attuning it to the pulse of the neko-mata's energy. Only when it was in perfect harmony did I let my energy turn into a energy and pushed it into the hurt areas. In a blink of an eye the skin and fur was restored. I repeated the process with the other paw.

The neko-mata then did something that shocked not only me but also the woman. It licked my face and purred. Laughing, I patted its head.

"Seems Kirara has taken a liking to you."

I smiled at the woman, telling her that I was now ready to follow her.

She lead me into one of the settlements and told me to sit beside the fireplace. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

My eyes shined like two bright violet stars at the prospect of drinking the warm liquid and I quickly agreed.

While she was waiting for the water to boil, we chatted.

"I think we should start with introductions. I am Sango."

"My name is Miya."

"Nice to meet you, Miya."

"You too, Sango-san."

The woman nodded and then hurried to get the boiling water from the fire and went on to prepare the tea while she kept asking me questions.

"How is Sesshomaru?"

"He is well. Too busy for his own good, but well."

"Is that so? I heard he found his mate about... 65 years ago?"

"Yes." I didn't want to divulge more information than necessary. If she asked, then I wouldn't mind sharing but I wasn't going to let my mouth run.

"As I can see you are not an inu youkai. That means your mother also isn't one."

"Yes. She is a leopard youkai."

The woman raised an eyebrow, surprise clear on her face. "Leopard youkai? I've never known there was such a specie..."

"From what I've heard, I gather they came here 700 years ago from Africa and decided to stay in secrecy until now."

"That's interesting. So you are also a leopard youkai."

"More or less. My true form is that of a leopard, but I inherited some inu traits like the strong sense of smell and some of my father's abilities..."

"You're a hybrid, then." I growled, not being able to control the reaction.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you!"

"It's all right, Sango-san. I would just prefer if you didn't call me that."

"Okay." The woman looked at me sheepishly and I could see thousands of questions she still had in the depth of her eyes.

"It's okay, Sango-san. Just keep asking. If I don't find something to my liking I simply won't answer."

"Then, do you have any siblings?"

"If I do not count Rin-neesama, then three. Two brothers and one sister." I smirked when I remembered the last family meeting. Our parents just about went crazy from all the kids they had to chastise.

"It's good to hear Sesshomaru found someone he could spend his life with and care for. He has always been careful not to get attached to anyone. We were glad when he appeared with Rin practically hanging on his sleeve but I knew he needed more. And now he finally has found it."

I frowned to myself as I kept listening to Sango depicting my father as a lonely and solitary being. It was hard to imagine him without all the followers stalking him.

"Sango-san, may I ask how you know my father?"

The woman smiled at me knowingly when she handed me the tea cup and sat down on the opposite side of the fireplace.

"Oh yes. Me and my comrades fought alongside him against Naraku."

"Naraku?! But that means he knew the Shikon no miko!"

"I take it he hadn't told you." the woman sighed, already guessing why the cold taiyoukai had not shared the experience with his children.

Sango, having taken the bait started telling me the story of her and her friends, not leaving out any detail. It was interesting to hear from one of the people who were there and not other youkai.

We talked until the dusk, both of us tired as she would speak and I would ask what was on my mind.

When we were finished, Sango asked the question that must have been nagging her the whole time.

"Tell me, Miya. Why have you decided to travel?"

I tried to think about it myself for a while. It was true that I felt like I was tied to a leash while in the castle. It was also true that I was disgusted by the men that called themselves my suitors and that I hated all the inaction and rules and etiquette... But that wasn't exactly why I left.

"Something was calling out to me from outside the castle. I know my destiny is somewhere out there..." I bit my lip and flushed at my words. "If you know what I mean."

"Child, always follow your heart. It will never lead you astray." I smiled at the wise woman gratefully, feeling she truly did understand what I was talking about.

"Now, why don't you rest for a bit? I'll tell the others not to come here."

"I shouldn't. This is a taijiya village, after all."

"Oh, it's alright. The only taijiyas here are my children and grandchildren. They won't do anything to you once I tell them about you."

"Thank you, Sango-san." I whispered as I stretched lazily like a cat and laid down next to my belongings, which I strapped off my back during our talk.


	3. The Journey

**Author's Notes: **Yuuki~desu! Hey guys! It seems the story is about to take on the roll! We get to see our one and only, Atem! (Though in the next chappie, that is...) Let me know what you think of how the story's coming along! And again,** THIS IS NOT KAGOME/ATEM STORY!**

**Chapter 3: The Journey**

I scrunched up my nose in distaste and irritation as a ray of intense light woke me up.

Groggily, I stretched my limbs and wiped the sleep from my eyes with the back of my hand. Absent-mindedly, I noted I was still in Sango's hut and it was past noon already.

_Well, guess it's time to leave._

I wasn't the type to accept other's kindness very easily and I felt I've overstayed my invitation. Gingerly, I gathered my things, strapped the swords to my sash and slung the sack over my shoulder.

The second I stepped out of the hut, I was surrounded by people wearing armours, which I recognized as a regular taijiya battle suit. Not really wanting to aggravate them more, I stood still, not daring to make a sound.

"Youkai wench!" called one of the men. He looked about thirty and held a pair of sais in his hands.

"What have you done to our grandmother?!"

I stared at the men and women around me, quickly realizing their scent was similar to that of Sango, marking them as her descendants.

"What do you mean?" I asked them icily, not understanding what they were talking about. _Is Sango-san hurt?_

"Grandma would never allow a scum like you to enter the village!" shouted the youngest of them, who looked to be around 13 years old in human years. I glared at him for calling me such a disrespectful name and he shivered.

"That's right! So stop controlling her mind!"

_They think I am controlling her?_ I would have snickered if it weren't for the tension in the air.

"Think whatever you want. I'm leaving." I stated coolly though on the inside, I regretted not being able to say goodbye to the old woman. She had told me a great deal not only about my father but also my uncle.

"Tell Sango-san I said 'farewell' and 'thank you'." With that I used my inhuman speed to get out of the village and back on the path I chose to get to Edo.

* * *

_Finally! _I groaned as I caught sight of the village my uncle resides in.

I spent the last two days running continuously, stopping only to get rid of persistent rogue youkai who followed me. I dealt with them swiftly but their number was just too big to not wear me out, even though they were small fries.

My legs felt like lead and hurt like bitch since the wooden sandals were not made for running.

I leant against a tree and started massaging my hurting thighs, calves and finally, feet. A moan of pure bliss escaped me once I finished.

Unfortunately, this little stop made my body realize just how tired I was. In the end, I've had to spent this last night camping outside, sleeping on the tree I leant against.

The next morning was one of the best I've ever experienced.

_Nothing beats the realization that you've arrived to your destination. Well, maybe a soak in a hot spring... _I shook my head as the sweet idea popped up. _No use getting distracted now._

Again, I made my youkai traits disappear under illusion along with my tattoo and then I did something I haven't tried before. I used a demonic spell I myself invented to turn my swords into two hairpins.

It worked perfectly.

I pulled up my hair into a high and intricate ponytail and secured it there using the two silver hairpins with little bells hanging on chains from them. The last thing I did was locking up my youki.

_Time for some family reunion. _I snickered.

Edo looked like every other human village – some huts and fences where the stock was kept. Kids were playing outside while their mothers either tended to their vegetable gardens or cooked inside. The elders sat outside on the porches, watching the kids play with nostalgic looks in their eyes.

I sniffed the air, looking for the unmistakable scent of the descendant of Inu no Taisho. It was clear from the not very high concentration that Inuyasha wasn't here right now. The scent was only two hours old, meaning he left recently.

_I hope he hadn't left for good..._

I followed the scent to the hut from which the strongest concentration of it came.

I was surprised to find out the hut belonged to a local, very young priestess, supposedly Kaede's successor. Thankfully, I didn't have to go inside to speak to the person as she came behind me.

"Umm... How may I help you?" asked the young miko. I smiled at her sweetly and just as much falsely, observing her appearance.

She was wearing the traditional priestess clothes- red hakama and white top. Her hair was light shade of brown and her eyes had the colour of fresh cut green grass.

I found it funny this innocent girl gave me the creeps and made my hair on my arms stand up. _She's a powerful miko..._

"Well, I have a feeling you can. I'm looking for Inuyasha."

The girl blinked, surprised. "For Inuyasha-san? I do not mean to pry, but can you tell me what business you have with him?" I couldn't miss the suspicion that was now laced with her aura.

_What? Have there been any attacks on him or something?_

"I came here to pass him a message from his brother." I lied smoothly.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" the girl blinked again. I got a feeling she did that quite often.

"Yes. He wishes to invite him to the next family gathering."

"That's..." she hesitated, thinking of what to say. "That's really nice of him, but why now?"

I shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Well... You can either wait for Inuyasha-san with me inside the hut, or you could go and find him in the forest by the Bone-eater's well."

"Thank you..." I bowed and then realized I didn't know her name.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! My name is Momoka."

"Thank you, Momoka-san." I repeated and made my way into the forest, ignoring the anger I felt in the girl's aura as I so blatantly ignored her unspoken plea for me to introduce myself.

It wasn't hard to find the hanyou as he had not only a strong inu scent but was also incredibly loud.

I watched in amusement as he sat down under a huge tree, which I identified as Goshinboku and kept muttering curses, each worse than the previous.

_Now, how should I approach him?_

I didn't have time to figure that out because the hanyou suddenly stood up and ran towards the well.

I froze in horror as I knew the only thing that could follow was for him to jump in.

Quick as a flash, I took off all the illusions and released my youki, which gave me speed boost I needed to reach my crazy uncle just before he disappeared in the black hole.

I grabbed his sleeve, but instead of stopping him, I got pulled in too. I gulped, wondering how deep the well was.

My question was answered soon as I landed with a soft thud on the bottom of the dried-up well. The hanyou beside me growled in frustration and then turned his angry gaze on me.

"What the hell, bitch! What are you doing here and why have you grabbed me?!"

I flinched at the name he called me and then I let myself be consumed by a similar rage.

"You're asking me why?! You just jumped down a dried-up well! What normal person does that?! You should be thankful I even considered you mutt worth saving!"

"Saving?!" he growled. "I didn't need saving! I'm perfectly fine as you can see and it's not thanks to you, bitch!"

I hissed at him, ready to jump him and shred him to pieces if he called me that again.

"Now that I think about it, who the fuck are you?" he continued his rambling.

"What kind of an inu hanyou are you if you can't even tell who I am from my scent?!" I shrieked at him.

_I think I perfectly understand why dad calls him filth. He has no manners, this ungrateful brat._

He sniffed me, not looking very hyper about it.

"You... You're Sesshomaru's daughter!"

"Bingo!" I huffed, my anger receding a little now that I understood that this person was not someone deserving of my respect.

To my surprise, Inuyasha sighed, settling himself down in front of me, his hands in his sleeves.

"So, what does that bastard want?"

I got a very strong urge to know what it feels like to bury my claws into his skin, but thought better of it once I saw how ragged he looked.

"Nothing. I came here on my own."

"Why?"

"Just felt like finally meeting my supposed uncle." I answered, studying his expression for his reaction to my confession.

He looked a bit curious but disappointed at the same time. "Why would you want that? I'm sure you father told you all about what a 'mutt' I am."

"Yeah, well... He did. I just wanted to see it for myself."

He kept silent for a while and I refused to say anything.

"For your information, I wasn't trying to kill myself by jumping in here." he finally whispered, his cheeks colouring in embarrassment.

"I know that now. But I'm still curious as to why you jumped in." I told him sincerely.

He looked at me then, searching my face for something before he spoke. "I wanted to try whether the well hasn't started working..."

My eyes widened as all the pieces suddenly fit together. _So he misses Kagome..._

"You do realize that even if the well opened up and allowed you to pass through time that 65 years have passed, don't you?"

At that moment, I regretted not having kept my mouth shut. Inuyasha looked so grief-stricken my heart bled in pity for him.

"I do..." he whispered, his words almost inaudible even to my heightened youkai senses.

Not knowing what else to do, I stood up and offered him my hand. He took it with a grateful smile and let me help him stand up. We both dusted off our clothes and jumped out of the well.

"I bet you already know my name, so what's yours?" he asked as he went to the Goshinboku and rested on one of its branches.

"Miya." I told him as I sat down under the sacred tree.

"If Sesshomaru's your father, then that makes you my niece."

I nodded in confirmation, wondering where this would lead to.

"Do you have any siblings?" Inuyasha asked off-handedly but I could see his growing curiosity in his aura.

I decided to stall my answer a bit by twirling one of the hairpin bells between my fingers. "Yes. There is Rin-neesama, whom dad adopted even before he met mother, then there is Kei and Rei, who are twins, and the last is Naoto, the youngest of us."

"And I thought I wouldn't live to see the day Sesshomaru got interested in someone." the hanyou chuckled to himself.

We spent the rest of the day chatting about various things. Mostly about my family and heritage and Inuyasha's life ever since the Shikon Quest ended. He told me that jumping down that well has been his everyday ritual for these last 65 years and I chastised him for his stupidity, to which he laughed.

At sunset, Momoka came to tell Inuyasha that dinner was ready and almost got a heart attack when she saw me without the illusion intact. Thankfully, Inuyasha stopped her before she could attempt to purify me and even persuaded her to let me stay with them, for which I was grateful.

Once my accommodation was sorted out, I went in search of the hot spring Momoka mentioned earlier. I did not bother to bring a torch with me as my night vision enabled me to see as clear as if it was a day.

I passed by the well on my way and noted how creepy it looked with all the shadows surrounding it, but went on.

I practically jumped up and down in happiness as I finally found the spring. Immediately, I strapped off my stuff sack as I would need the herbal shampoo and soap inside it and took out the hairpins from my hair, laying them on a stone by the shore. I then stripped and threw my clothes into the water as it would need washing.

First, I washed my clothes and slung them over the nearest tree branches. Not wanting to wait for them to dry up, I used my violet flame youki to accelerate the process. Only then did I allow myself to enjoy the hot spring fully.

After I was clean and clothed I, with my hair held high with my hairpins, I made my way back to the village.

This time, when I passed by the well, there were no shadows. In fact, it looked as if the well was faintly glowing. With caution, I went to it, my hand instinctively flexing and my claws elongating.

The closer I got to the well, the more it seemed to glow. The realization made shivers run down my spine and I had to bit my lip to keep myself from shuddering.

I peeked over the edge and was awestruck at the sight. Instead of seeing the dirty bottom of the well I fell into earlier that day, there was an image of a beautiful morning sky reflected in it.

Even though I thought it was beautiful, I was ready to write the occurrence off as a simple illusion or trick, but that's when an extremely dry and warm gust of wind caressed my wet tresses.

The reality of what was happening finally hit me. _I'm looking at sky in a different era._ I had no way of knowing whether this was from the future or perhaps the past, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

And it called to me. Like a lullaby that might have been sung to me when I was a cub, it made its way deep into my mind, into the part none of us understood. It was calling me home.

Without thinking twice about it, I jumped in.


	4. Taming

**Author's Note: **Yuuki~desu! Okay guys, I think you'll probably be wondering what the heck I've done with the timeline approximately in the second half of this chapter. So here's the info: **It is set on the day of following the one of coronation of the Pharaoh Atem, but Bakura's main attack won't happen for a few weeks or even months! (I haven't decided yet.) **Just to make it clear :)

**Chapter 4: Taming**

I roared as I felt the sudden sensation of cold water engulfing my body.

My survival instincts kicked into high gear as I swam, hoping I was heading up and not down. My prayers were answered as my head broke through the surface and I desperately gasped for air.

As my eyes still stung from the contact with water, I had to rely on my other senses to figure out just where I was.

The first thing I realized was that the water was by no means salty. Which was a good sign. Hopefully.

Also, my pants were coming back in echoes and along with slushing sound the water made when meeting with a hard surface. From that, I guessed I was in a cave. But then, there was too much sunlight for it to be a cave.

I reached out with my hand, trying to grasp onto something. The initial contact with the hard surface however wasn't successful as my hand merely slipped along it. It was slick. I tried again, this time using my claws to hold myself in place.

Once I didn't have to worry about drowning, I calmed down a bit and concentrated on my breathing instead.

Thanks to the deep breaths I took, I quickly caught onto the smell of overwhelming humidity and a hint of staleness, meaning the water was there constantly.

Adding all that to the fact I jumped into a well...

It didn't take a genius to realize I really was in a well. Just that this one wasn't dried up.

_Lucky, aren't I?_ I snorted bitterly.

I blinked several times to get the water out of my eyes. And when I did, I was relieved to see that it wasn't a long way up to the surface and dry ground.

I braced myself for what was to come and jumped up. I used my claws like hooks as I slowly made my way up.

_Just don't slip._ I repeated in my head over and over.

After agonizing minutes of straining my muscles and forcing my claws into the hard stone walls, I was out of the hell hole called 'well'.

_If anyone ever tries to tell me that wells are source of life as they are source of water, I'll rip their heads off._ I swore to myself silently.

I didn't get a good look around because I started to feel dizzy, but I sure as hell freaked out when everywhere I looked was nothing but sand.

Then the overwhelming heat knocked me out.

* * *

I groaned second time this day as I woke up.

I was just grateful that I didn't have to fight for my life this time. _At least not yet._ I added as I had no idea what situation I was in.

A simple opening of my eyes told me that whatever the situation was, it was not good.

I was in a cage.

It took me a while to accept that fact, but when I did, I couldn't help but wonder why. Or how, for that matter.

If I was in my regular youkai form, there would be no need to put me in a cage as I could be restrained by simple blessed chains or spells or something. And if I was in my true form, I still wouldn't be in a cage since a cage of my size simply didn't exist as I was of the same size as my father.

That left only one option. I was in my true form, but somehow it was much smaller than usually. And by the fact there were no blessed restraints put on me, I could deduct I was of the same size as a normal leopard, making my captors mistake me for one.

_Oh great. Please don't tell me I've been made into a pet!_ I pleaded.

Suddenly, a cloth that covered the cage and prevented me from seeing anything, was lifted.

To my left stood the perpetrator of my sudden meeting with reality. Judging by the spear he was holding in his hand, he was most likely a guard. Though I've never seen a guard wear a white skirt with a white loincloth over it and a white headdress made of white fabric... I ignored the guard for now as I kept looking around.

There were nine people standing before me.

All of them had a regal air around them, though the person who had the most charismatic aura was the one standing right in front of my cage, glaring down at me.

He was wearing a white tunic, but his loincloth strapped over it was light blue and he had a golden belt around his waist. Around his neck was fastened a midnight blue cape, which clashed with the lights his numerous golden accessories reflected under the sunlight.

He wore gold on almost every part of his body – his calves, his wrists, his arms, around his neck, on his forehead in form of a strange golden eye circlet and, lastly, on his ears as long earrings. The fact one of his bracelets was of an uneven shape resembling a golden bird wing baffled me a bit, but the most fascinating piece of his jewellery was the pendant hanging from a leather string on his neck. It had a shape of a pyramid, which was turned upside down, an eye ornament in its centre.

The man, just like his ensemble, was fascinating. He had bronze, obviously tanned skin, tri-coloured spiky hair and piercing purple eyes few shades darker than my own.

I had a hard time trying not to squirm under his intense gaze and sighed when he finally turned to a man standing by his right.

This man also wore excessive amounts of gold, however the design was different.

Different was even his clothing as he wore blue tunic with a white cape and some kind of a hat with a golden cobra in its centre.

The shorter man, who was obviously the taller man's superior was talking with him and he didn't sound very pleased. I had no idea what they were talking about as I did not speak their language, but I got a feeling they were talking about me.

My guess must have been right because once the men stopped talking, everyone in the room looked at me.

_Okay, I've had enough. I just have to know what they're talking about!_

I used one of my own fangs to cut my lip and then I whipped my head abruptly, making the few drops of blood fly in the direction of the guard.

Once it touched his exposed skin, I discreetly sent my youki into the droplets and started reciting the demonic spell for gaining information from unwilling victims in my mind. To make it work the way I wanted it to, I changed the word 'information' into 'knowledge' imagining the ability to speak while repeating the spell.

After but a blink of an eye, I gained access to the man's mind. I quickly surfed through his memories and instantly relived his first years after he was born, learning to speak along with him. I stopped when I was sure I was able to speak their language and even write using it.

I shook my head to bring myself out of the trance-like state and found that this time when the shorter man spoke, I understood him perfectly.

"Seto, is this really necessary?" he asked, sounding a more than a bit annoyed.

"It has always been our custom to gift the new Pharaoh with a feline beast. They, as holy creatures, are supposed to ward off evil." replied Seto, pointing the golden rod he was holding in my direction. "And this one is certainly special, as you can see."

The tri-colour-haired man then crouched in front of me, examining me closely.

"Yes, well... I must admit I have never seen a white leopard, not mention one with violet eyes and a purple crescent moon mark on its forehead."

Suddenly, an elder man who was silently standing to the purple-eyed man the whole time, spoke up.

"My Pharaoh, I think this beast is a gift from gods and should be treated as such. And even if it does not wield any special powers, it can become a very valuable and loyal companion once tamed properly." The man said.

_He kind of resembles this 'Pharaoh'._ flashed through my mind. Though I did have to snort at what he said. _Gift from gods? Hardly. I am a youkai, being of demonic descent. No way was I ever a holy beast of any kind._

The young man sighed and stood up, turning to a black-haired woman wearing a white dress and a white cape with a hood adorned with golden eagle.

"Tell me Isis, what do you say? Should I keep the beast or not?"

"I feel great power and loyalty emanating from it, Pharaoh. The gods tell me that keeping it will prove to be one of the best decisions you've ever made." she proclaimed as her necklace glowed for a few seconds and then returned to normal.

"So be it." sighed the purple-eyed man, sounding resigned.

"Yay!" squealed a brown-haired teenager girl wearing a short white dress. "What will you name him?"

I growled menacingly when I heard the girl refer to me as a male. _How dare she?! Is it not enough that they want to keep me here as a pet?! They have to insult me now?!_

"It's a female, Mana." corrected Seto.

"Let's see..." murmured the Pharaoh with his arms crossed on his chest. He kept staring at me intently, as if he was trying to see inside my soul.

"What about Meriss?"

"Wise choice, my Pharaoh." nodded the old man approvingly. "All that is left now is for you to tame it. If it indeed is a beast sent by the gods, it will listen only to you."

_Yeah and pigs can fly. Like I could be tamed by a mere human!_ Not even my father was able to control my actions and he had 58 years to figure me out.

"I understand. Now that this is settled, I have to return to my actual duties." With that, the young Pharaoh left, along with the guard and seven of his followers, leaving behind only the rude teenager.

Once the doors closed behind them, the girl sat down before me at a safe distance and flashed me a dazzling smile.

"Since you are now part of our family, Meriss, I think it's appropriate for me to introduce myself. My name is Mana and I am a mage-in-training. My master is Mahad. You know, the serious guy all in white with a hood pulled up with two golden pointy bat-like wings on it?"

I distinctly remembered someone like that. He, too had a pendant around his neck, though his was a triangle with the eye and a golden ring around it.

"Well, even if you don't, I'll be sure to drag him here and introduce him properly." she kept on rambling and I found I was really interested in who was who.

To my dismay, she aborted the topic of the other's identities immediately after and started telling me of some palace gossip, which had absolutely nothing to do with me.

_Oh, please just go away. I can't try to escape with you here..._

I saw no sense in keeping still and sitting like an obedient puppy so I laid down and nestled my head on my front paws, already thinking of an escape plan.

Someone up there must have started pitying me because the girl abruptly stopped blabbering.

"It was nice talking to you, Meriss, but I have to go. Mahad is surely looking for me by now. See you tomorrow!" Mana waved at me and ran out of the room.

I perked up once I heard her footsteps getting softer with the distance.

_Time to stop this foolishness. _

Yes, the people here looked kind and all but I wasn't going to turn into their lapdog. I wasn't the type. _Though the young Pharaoh did have me hesitating for a moment or two_. I blushed at the silly thought, glad that it wasn't visible.

I summoned my violet demonic energy and formed it into the shape of a blade, using it to cut the bars. Free of the restraints, there was nothing preventing me from getting out of the door Mana so conveniently forgot to close behind her.

I peeked out, sniffing the air and expanding my youki to detect any nearby auras.

There were none.

Without thinking twice about it, I used this chance to run down the hallway to my right, letting my instincts lead me.

After a short trek, I found myself in a beautiful exotic garden with plants I haven't seen before. The sight might have been refreshing and breathtaking had it not been for a fact the same greenery clogged up my sense of smell, robbing me of my only way to navigate through this unknown place.

In my disorientated state I couldn't even find my way back into the room with the cage, forcing me to either run around blindly or hide here and wait until I got used to the smells.

Neither sounded acceptable.

In the case I used the first, I might run into some magician who was able to hide his aura. As for the second, it was nearly impossible for me to hide successfully. I wasn't exactly what you call invisible since I was white and the plants were green. I stood out too much.

_Yeah, thanks dad. I'm gonna haunt you if I get killed because of your genes._

I crawled under a bush that I was sure wasn't poisonous and waited to get used to the damn flowers.

After three hours of waiting, I was getting restless. It was noon and I had no doubts they would send someone to feed me too. _I can't wait anymore._ With that, I jumped out of the bush and ran through the maze-like palace in top speed.

I was just rounding a corner that looked eerily like the last 7 ones, praying this one would finally lead me out.

I wasn't that lucky. Instead of joyously running out of the palace like I wanted to, I bumped into someone. The person fell to the ground, me landing partly on top, breathing heavily from exercise. I tried to scramble up but exhaustion caught up to me and my legs wouldn't listen to me.

That's when I heard the groan and my heart stopped in horror. _You're kidding me, right? Please don't tell me it's...!_

I looked down, only to come face-to-face with the last person I wanted to meet.

The Pharaoh.

I whined at the irony of it all and regretted it shortly after. The sound must have been too loud because he opened his eyes and stared up at me, confusion clearly reflected in his deep purple orbs.

My limbs miraculously sprung to life and I jumped off of him, slowly backing away, my eyes never leaving his as he rose on his elbows.

"Meriss?" he asked and I tried to keep my panic contained, telling myself that rash actions would only lead to my death.

His eyes widened as he finally realized that he was alone in a secluded space with a potentially dangerous beast on loose.

I did the only thing I could think of, to ease his shock and raising wariness – I laid down on my back, exposing my stomach to him.

The very wolf-like gesture of submission looked odd and playful when I did it but I didn't care. I would give my all for this man not to attack me or be afraid of me.

_Why the heck do I even care? _I thought.

But this was hardly the time for such thoughts. The Pharaoh stood up, watching my every move. My paws twitched with tension as I didn't dare to move in the slightest, waiting for the male to give any sign of what he was going to do. What he did, however, astonished me.

He started laughing.

The sound was strangely pleasant and I felt myself relaxing.

"What in the Ra's name are you doing, Meriss?" he asked suddenly, a hint of amusement evident in his tone and sparkling eyes. "You are acting like a dog. I hope you don't expect me to rub your belly."

Inside, I blushed like a tomato but on the outside, I grumbled. Slowly, as to not startle him, I rolled over, clearly letting him know that I was not interested in such an act.

The man chuckled and took a step closer to me. Curiously, I kept watching him, my ears twitching in anticipation.

"I can see you understand what I am saying, so listen closely. You have obviously gotten out of your cage. If you seek freedom, I am not going to stop you. All I ask of you is to not hurt any of my people." The amusement from his voice faded, making him look more like a capable leader he was.

My eyes widened at his words. _Is this man for real? He'll let me go just like that? _

My brain couldn't seem to comprehend the situation. This man standing before me was offering me freedom even after his advisers told him I would be a great asset to his country, and all he was asking for was for me not to attack anyone I might encounter.

In that instant, I made up my mind. I would stay with this righteous and kind man for however long I could. I had a feeling I would never be bored in his presence.

_Not like I have anything else to do. _I added.

I heaved myself up and trotted up to the Pharaoh, rubbing my head against his thigh affectionately all the while purring.

He stiffened when I approached him, but as soon as he heard me purring he relaxed and even patted my head. I leaned into his touch, revelling at the feel of his warm palm on my head.

"I didn't know that taming beasts was this easy." he remarked and I swatted my tail at his knee playfully.

_Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm probably the only youkai stupid enough to give up my freedom in order to observe an interesting human._ I said mentally despite the fact I knew he couldn't hear me.

"I was just about to head to the diner hall for lunch. Do you want to come with me?"

I inwardly shook my head at his naivety and easy-going attitude he had towards me, but nudged his hand with my nose in confirmation.


	5. The Collar of Peace

**Author's Note: **Yuuki~desu! I've decided to update! Yay! This chappie is a bit long but only due to my descriptions of the Pharaoh's inner circle. Feel free to skip them, if you want. I bet you already know what the Guardians look like, so... Enjoy! Yeah, and Review!

**Chapter 5: The Collar of Peace**

Our walk to the dining hall was uneventful for the most part. The Pharaoh was deep in his thoughts and I was looking around, trying to memorize the way.

We were brought out of our reverie when someone appeared behind us.

"Pharaoh!" cried a male voice and we turned only to see a very disturbed-looking guard.

With a battle cry, the guard lunged for me. Quickly understanding the situation, I stepped to the side, effectively dodging the deadly spear aimed at me. The man's leg slipped when he felt no impact and he fell to one knee only to abruptly stand up again.

_What a clumsy person. _I chuckled inwardly. _Well, at least he's loyal._

Before the guy could point his spear at me once again, Pharaoh stopped him. "That is enough."

"My king?" asked the man, confusion evident in his wild eyes.

"I said that's enough." repeated my companion, glaring daggers at the poor oblivious guard. "The beast is tame."

Understanding dawned on the middle-aged man and he immediately withdrew his weapon and bowed to the Pharaoh. "Forgive me, my King. I thought the beast was about to attack you." he sounded ashamed and I smirked at that.

The Pharaoh did what I thought he would. "It is quite alright. There is nothing to forgive. You were doing your job."

"Thank you, Pharaoh." said the man in response, ready to bolt from the scene when the purple-eyed ruler stopped him with his next words.

"But if you truly want to redeem yourself, I have just the task for you." I giggled inwardly at the man's hopeful expression.

"I'll do anything, my king."

"Good. You would do me a great favour if you told the other guards about this leopard. I wouldn't want this situation to repeat itself."

The man bowed again. "I'll get to it right away, my King." And just as suddenly as he had appeared, he left.

I looked at the Pharaoh only to see him doing the same with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I think it would be for the best to make you a collar."

I growled menacingly, my eyes glowing like two violet pits of hell as I glared at him.

"I didn't say I was going to tie you up. I merely stated that if you wore a collar, it would be clear you are tamed and that people should leave you alone." He crossed his arms on his chest, giving me some time to think it over.

_It's still a collar! _I shrieked and then took a few cleansing breaths to calm me down. _But his reasoning does make sense. _I clenched my teeth, already hating myself for what I was about to do.

I swished my tail agitatedly and bowed my head low, purring.

"I take it that's a yes."

I nodded.

"Good. I'll send a servant for blacksmith after lunch."

_A blacksmith? What? Am I getting a neck armour or something? _

But then I remembered these people's extreme love of gold.

_At least it'll look fancy. _I thought, but shuddered as I imagined myself with a golden collar. _Definitely not my colour._

We had no problems the rest of the way as we didn't meet anyone. _For a palace, this place's security sucks. _I grumbled dejectedly.

The dining hall was another story completely.

All of the people I remembered seeing while I was in the cage were there, along with a group of four guards stationed by the two doors leading outside of the hall. I didn't see anyone else but I could feel aura of some servants behind small doors in the far, most likely leading to the kitchen.

Upon entering, everyone stopped talking and looked at us.

Or more like at me.

The guards sprung into action, going for me without hesitation. I ran right in their direction, accepting their challenge.

I dodged a spear one of them threw at me, catching the second in my mouth and snapping it in half. The two now unarmed guards backed a few steps, allowing the other two to come in the front. I lowered myself to the floor, tensing my muscles in preparation for my next action.

The second they were both almost three meters (10 feet) from me, I jumped, which caught them by surprise, preventing them from raising their spears in the right direction. Instead, they raised their arms to protect themselves.

I landed right on top of their raised arms with enough force to knock the two men to the ground. I lowered my head to their faces and growled, satisfied when they paled.

"Meriss, stop playing with my guards."

I turned to stare at the Pharaoh with a look that clearly said: 'Oh, come on, don't ruin my fun.'

"Meriss." he raised his voice this time, the unspoken order undeniably present in the tone he used.

I huffed and walked back to his side, where I sat down.

"Pharaoh!" cried out one of the unarmed guards in alarm, stepping over his fallen comrades to get to his ruler as soon as possible.

I laid down lazily, watching the man with my one opened eye.

"Stay there!" boomed the authoritative voice of my companion, making the guard freeze on the spot.

"The leopard is with me, so back off." he hissed, his annoyance and mild anger reflected in the uncontrolled expanding of his aura.

I grinned wolfishly, revealing my deadly fangs.

_So delicious. _I thought, licking my lips at the feel of his aura brushing against my side.

"Does that mean you tamed her?" questioned one of the people whose name I didn't know. He was bald and had some kind of a strange tattoo on his forehead.

The Pharaoh glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and then answered the man. "Yes, Shada, it does." I rolled my eyes. _Yeah, you 'tamed' me. More like I've decided not to be stubborn._

"But how is that possible? You've been in the throne room the whole time..." said an old man with a weird golden eye instead of his own.

"Do you question truthfulness of my words, Aknadin?" shot back the Pharaoh, coldness in his voice daring him to say anything more.

"No, my king." he whispered, knowing that any other answer would not fare well for him.

The purple-eyed ruler merely nodded and looked at me expectantly. I got the message and stood up, following him to the head of the table.

Meanwhile, everyone calmed down and assumed their own seats at the table, occasionally glancing at me in nervous or wary manner.

The only ones who didn't, were Isis and Mana.

The first one, I assumed, was sure I wouldn't attack her for the same unfathomable reason why she thought I was a great asset to them, and the second one... Well, Mana was either confident in her ability to talk me to death or she was too innocent for her own good.

When the Pharaoh was seated, I laid down beside his legs, keeping my senses open for any sign of threat.

As soon as everyone got comfortable in their chairs, servants carrying food on huge golden trays filled the room, placing their heavy burdens on the enormous dining table.

Once they served the humans, they brought out my food – a huge piece of bloody meat. What kind of meat, I didn't know. The scent wasn't familiar to me.

I hesitated a little, but then I licked the meat, savouring the exquisite bloody taste.

I always knew I would be capable of eating raw meat if needed but I was used to human food. It would take me a while to change my tastes.

I tore the meat into smaller pieces, which I chewed on for a while and then swallowed. _It isn't that bad..._

I finished it rather quickly and then cleaned my fur by licking it until not even a speck of blood was left.

After the lunch, the people talked between themselves about different topics. I found half of them didn't interest me in the slightest, so I concentrated on Mana's and Pharaoh's conversation.

"I heard from Mahad you were the one responsible for the explosion of the fountain in the eastern gardens, Mana."

The girl gulped and shifted in her seat, guilt emanating from her in intensive waves. "Y-Yes." she stuttered.

"And how many fountains have you destroyed already by practising that freezing spell?" he demanded.

_Something's telling that the number is more than just three._

"Six." she muttered, folding her hands in her lap and looking at them.

I almost snickered when I saw the action, until I remembered something from my own past, which made lose all of my humour for a second.

**Flashback**

"_Miya, how many times do I have to repeat it until you get it?!" snarled Kei._

"_As many times as you want to, but without me! I quit! You are no good as a trainer!" I shouted, my thin patience finally snapping. I turned around and stomped to the exit of the dojo, when Kei grabbed my wrist._

"_YOU ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"_

"_Let me go." I hissed menacingly, not turning to even look at him._

"_You will stay here and practise until you can do it!" he continued, ignoring me._

"_I warn you. LET ME GO." I repeated, louder this time._

"_Even if it takes years, you will-" _

_Not letting him finish, I whipped around and roared at him with as much power as I could, before I gathered my youki in my hand, shaping it into a perfect ball of scorching blaze of fire, as hot as my rage. _

_I threw the ball of fire youki at my brother, already imagining him on fire and screaming in agony, when he dodged. _

_The ball, however didn't stop and collided with the main wooden pillar of the dojo._

_Instincts willed my legs to move as I ran outside, my brother behind me._

_My rage subsided as I stood there for fifteen minutes, silently watching the fire spreading thorough the whole construction of father's favourite dojo._

"_Well, at least you can use the Hellfire, now..." muttered my brother who stood beside me, also watching the apocalypse._

_I nodded, flinching when I heard father's enraged howls coming from the main part of the palace._

**End of flashback**

"Don't you think it's time you either asked Mahad for advice or gave up on the spell completely?" inquired the Pharaoh, trying to convince the girl to do what's right.

"B-but the spell is supposed to be easy! If I ask Master Mahad for advice on such an easy spell, what will he think of me?" she practically sobbed and I pitied her enough to go to her and lay my head in her lap and gaze at her sympathetically.

I felt the Pharaoh stiffen and then immediately relax when Mana started caressing the top of my head and I didn't do anything to her.

"He certainly will not think less of you than now, after you've destroyed six antique fountains from the time of my great-grandfather."

"You're right." the young magician girl sighed and then kept silent, motions of her hand not ceasing.

She surprised both me and the Pharaoh when she spoke again.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" she asked the man and smiled at him, then looked down at me traced my moon mark with her index finger.

"Who?"

"Meriss, of course!" she exclaimed and threw her hands in air in exasperation, which gave me an opportunity to withdraw.

Too embarrassed to listen to them anymore, I've decided to check out the other people.

I started with the other end of the table, with the old man who looked so much like the older version of the young Pharaoh.

He had similar purple eyes and even the hairstyle. Or at least what I was able to see of it since he was wearing a purple high hat with a golden eye and a shape that looked like a cobra going up from it. The accessory on his hat was the only golden thing he wore, making him one of the few people with only small amount of gold on him. _Shame I don't know his name..._ His clothes, too, looked simple as he wore only a white tunic and dark blue cape attached to it.

Opposite of him sat a man I haven't even heard talking.

He had a hair of a lightly worn-out black that reached two inches past his jaw and his eyes were very dark green. He was wearing a toga-like piece of clothing that revealed more of muscular chest than a real toga would, wide golden necklace made from numerous smaller golden rectangles, golden circlet on his head, golden armbands a simple golden bracelet on one wrist and the wing-like one on the other. In his hand rested a golden scale.

The person sitting on the first one's left was the bald man with the tattoo, known as 'Shada'.

He was wearing a white tunic with a white cape over it and was the third 'least-gold-wearing' person in the room, right after Aknadin and the old man on his right. He was wearing golden armbands, loophole earrings, a big golden ankh pendant, one simple golden bracelet and the wing-like bracelet on his other hand.

On the right of the man with the scale sat Aknadin.

He was the person wearing the smallest amount of gold as he only had his golden eye visible. The old priest was wearing a white hooded cape that was only showed his bearded face, which I found odd. Immediately I labeled him as the creepiest of the people present.

To Aknadin's right sat the one who fit Mana's description of her master, Mahad.

He was wearing a white tunic and white headdress, adorned with a golden sphere in the centre on his forehead and from it sprouted the two gold 'pointy bat-like wings' as Mana called them. His collarbone was whole hidden by gold, as he was wearing something I would call 'a neck armour' more than a necklace, and 'shoulder armours'. He, too had a pendant slung over his neck. His had a shape of a triangle with the eye in its centre, while the triangle itself was attached to a golden ring around it, from which hung five thin and pointy golden cones. The same golden cones hung from his blue belt with golden buckle. He also wore golden armbands and one simple golden bracelet and one wing-like bracelet.

Opposite of Mahad sat Isis.

She was, as per usual, wearing her long white dress with a neckline made of gold with a bright blue stone in the centre. The dress was held firmly at her waist by a golden belt. Over the dress she wore a very short white cape, which almost hid her golden armbands from view. Her one simple bracelet, unlike the other's was bright blue, lined with gold, while the other was the wing-like one like the other's. She wore a white headpiece with a golden eagle head at the centre of her forehead, while the eagle's gold wings framed her face. On her neck, she wore a golden necklace with the eye on it.

On Isis' right sat Seto, the only person in a tunic of different colour than white.

Except his cape, all of his clothing was blue and adorned with gold. He had a golden rings around his shoulders, hiding the contrast of his skin with the blue fabric. They connected with a golden ankh on his chest. He had a wide piece of gold around his neck, posing as a high neckline to his tunic, which was held in place with a golden belt. On his head sat a blue hat with golden cobra rising from it and two wing-like pieces of gold posed symmetrically on its sides. Instead of his hair peeking from the hat, it was hidden by a curtain of delicate golden pieces hanging from the hat. His golden armbands encircled his arms, in one of which he held his golden rod. On the other hand, he had the wing-like bracelet.

Opposite of him sat Mana, who continued chatting with the Pharaoh even though it was clear from his expression he wasn't really paying attention to her.

_Time to rescue him, huh?_

I went to him and caught the edge of his midnight blue cape in mouth, pulling it gently but adamantly in the direction of the door we used to come in.

He got the hint and quickly used me as an excuse to run away from Mana's never-ending blabbering.

As soon as we got out of the room and closed the door behind us, the Pharaoh sighed, relieved.

"I guess I owe you one now." he winked at me and bent down to scratch me behind my ears, to which I involuntarily started purring.

"How about we use this free time to talk with the blacksmith?"

I nodded.

* * *

I was surprised to find out that the palace had its own blacksmith, and even more so when the Pharaoh told me he specialized in working with gold and other rare metals to make jewellery and similar things.

"What do we have here?" asked the tall and a little too thin man as he stood up from his work to greet us.

"Oh, Pharaoh. It has been a while since you last sought out my services."

"Indeed it has, my friend." agreed the ruler with a soft smile.

"What can Salitis do for you, my King?" I rose an eyebrow at that. _Is it just me or did he just call himself in third person?_

"I want you to make a collar for this leopard." he motioned at me and Salitis took the opportunity to look at me closely.

"I will have to take its measurements." said the blacksmith as he lifted his eyes to look at the Pharaoh meaningfully.

"Fear not, my friend. She is quite tame."

"So it's a female..." muttered the thin man under his breath absent-mindedly as he knelt down in front of me and reached out to touch me.

I glanced at the Pharaoh and then back at the man before me. _If he trusts him, I think I can too. To an extent, of course._

I sniffed the man's outstretched hand before leaning in and rubbing my cheek against the side of his hand, letting him know it was okay to touch me.

Salitis started by patting my head and pushing my fur out of the way to know how thick my fur coat is. Then, he went to my neck, doing the same.

After he was done, I looked ruffled up as if someone attacked me.

While the two men talked, I sat down and started smoothing and licking the places the blacksmith touched me and therefore made my fur stand in every direction.

"If I may ask, whose leopard is it? It might help me in making the design." asked Salitis as he stood up.

"She's mine."

"And her name?" inquired the blacksmith, his eyes gaining that faraway look people get when they daydream.

"Meriss."

"And do you have any idea of what the collar should look like?"

"No. Just make sure it doesn't inconvenience her in any way and that we can take it off when needed."

"I understand." smiled the man and abruptly frowned. "Is there any time limit?"

The Pharaoh thought about it for a while but then shook his head. "No, but I want it done soon. There have already been five guards who attacked her because they thought she was endangering me."

"I see. Then I'll start immediately and bring it to you when it's done."

"That will be appreciated. Thank you, Salitis."

The man nodded, utterly lost in his own world as he turned his back to us and sat down on a short stool, looking at seemingly nothing.

The Pharaoh watched the man for a while with an unreadable expression but before I could figure it out, he turned on his heel and marched out of the room with me in tow.


	6. The First Poison

**Author's Note: **Yuuki~desu! Hey guys! You ready for some fluffy chappie? I actually really like this one. And if you like a bit of absurd situations and unexpected twists, you'll do too. I only have one more completed chapter and one half-written. I'm sure I would have written like 4 more if it weren't for my stupidity... I actually left my already completed chapter 8 at my aunt's and since I don't want to change the happenings, I have to first get that piece of paper back. Gee. That means you'll have to wait... But for now, Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: The First Poison**

After the meeting with the blacksmith, the Pharaoh continued to be quiet and kept on briskly walking down the hallways. I trailed behind him, wondering where we were going.

_Wherever we're going, I hope it's somewhere away from Mana's gossips._

And I was right on spot. We arrived into what was most likely the Throne Room, judging by the one high golden chair located on the opposite side of the room, on a platform.

My companion didn't stop even for a second. If it was possible, he started walking even quicker. I also sped up just to keep up with him, and when he sat down on the throne, I contentedly laid down by his feet, glancing at five familiar faces out of the corner of my eye.

Out of the eight who were at lunch, only Mahad, Seto, Aknadin, Shada and the 'older version of Pharaoh' were present.

_I wonder the others are doing..._

Approximately ten minutes after we arrived, a man wearing different clothes than the people I've met so far, came in with a few of his servants. He walked up to us, kneeling before the Pharaoh and then proceeding with congratulating him on ascending the throne and presenting some riches as a gift.

This routine repeated several times, differently clothed men coming in, kneeling, talking and then putting the silk, gold, precious stones and other valuables to the others, making the mass grow steadily.

Finally, after about the sixth ambassador from a different country, I dozed off.

It wasn't until I felt something was amiss that I woke up and acted on impulse, jumping right in front of the Pharaoh.

I whimpered when the needle shot from somewhere in the mass of gifts, stuck into my side and I practically growled in annoyance when I felt the poison invade my system. Right side of my body limp, I sprawled on the floor, cursing whoever made the poison.

Just as I landed with a not-so-soft 'thud', Isis ran in, screaming for Mahad. He, in response, simply shook his head and looked at me.

"Calm down, Isis. The Pharaoh is unhurt."

"Thank gods." she sighed, sounding genuinely relieved, which almost made me smile. Almost.

I concentrated my youki on neutralizing most effects of the poison, not paying much attention to the turmoil going on around me.

The Pharaoh slid from his throne and knelt down beside me, looking down at my fallen form solemnly, his lips pursed in a grim line.

"That was brave of you..." he said, obviously thinking about whether I would survive. "And extremely stupid." he added, his eyes turning to mine. "Thank you."

I huffed as if to say it was all right and then let myself listen to the commotion around us, as there was nothing better for me to do since most of my body was paralysed.

"It came from one of the gifts." Mahad told Isis as they both moved to the enormous hill of gifts.

"Yes, but from which one?" she said, making him stare at her.

"You don't know?" he asked, making her scowl at him.

"No, I don't. The vision didn't show me which one it was, exactly."

I roared in pain as I felt someone remove the needle and I whipped my head around to look who did it. It was Shada. He dropped the needle to the ground then, tearing off the bloody part of his cloak he used to hold the needle. Once I was sure he wouldn't do anything else to me, I turned back to the comical pair, still arguing.

"Then how are we supposed to know which one it was?" asked Mahad, his aura spiking in frustration with a bit of anger.

"We'll have to investigate every single one of them." sighed Seto, showing how much he was looking forward to it.

I growled at the humans._ Am I supposed to do everything here myself, or what?_

"That'll take years and until then, the enemy may strike again." pointed out the 'older version of Pharaoh'.

"You are right, Shimon." agreed the Pharaoh, caressing my cheek and then standing up to face Isis.

"Do you at least have an idea from which area of the valuables it came?"

"No, my King." she shook her head and looked down in shame.

I groaned on the inside and decided to give the useless humans a helping hand. Or paw, in my case. I sniffed the poisoned needle lying on the ground beside me and used my left paw and leg to push myself in the direction of the 'mountain of gold'. My claws scraped across the tiles and gave out a very unpleasant sound, which caught everyone's attention.

"Meriss, I don't think it's a good idea to move around. The poison will spread quicker." pointed out the Pharaoh and I ignored him. _Not like it matters since you can't give me an antidote 'cause you don't know what kind of poison it is._

I winced as I slid down the stupid two steps leading down the platform and continued to make my way to the 'gifts'.

Aside from the Pharaoh trying to talk some sense into me, no one tried to stop me, for what I was grateful. I don't think I would have the energy to put up an effective struggle.

Once I arrive to my goal, I sniffed again, glad I found the prominent scent of the poison nearby. I moved a little to the right, already panting from the exhaustion.

_So which one is it?_ I asked myself, eyeing the area where the scent was the strongest.

Thankfully, the smell didn't have time to seep into other things, so I easily spotted the inconspicuous-looking golden box.

_Now, how do I get it down?_ It was far too high for me to reach it in my current state. _How about- No, that's too risky. Using my youki in this state will leave me even more weakened and totally vulnerable. _So I opted for another way.

First, I made sure there were no more needles in the box, by analysing its scent. Then, I caught a hem of a piece of luxurious fabric that was tangled in the mess beneath the box. I pulled on it, sending the box falling down along with a golden circlet and few emeralds and rubies.

I caught my breath, waiting to see if any of them hit me.

They didn't.

I moved to the box that now lay on its side, nudged it forward to Mahad's feet and growled at it.

He didn't seem to understand so I looked at the Pharaoh, desperate for him to get the message.

To my relief, he did. "Mahad, I think you should investigate that box first."

He raised and eyebrow at the young ruler, but complied. "Yes, my King." he took the box into his hands and examined its outside, when something caught his attention. He angled it a little to the side and abruptly turned it upside down, knocking on its bottom. It sounded hollow.

"Well, is it the one?" asked Seto impatiently. Mahad faced him and nodded.

"Good." he snarled and glared down at me, lying at Mahad's feet. "Seems like the beast was useful, after all." he smirked victoriously and I couldn't help but growl at him.

His implication of my certain death did not escape me. _I' not done yet, you jerk!_

"Mahad, Isis, Seto." cut in my 'owner's' voice. "I expect you to find the culprit and bring them to me immediately."

"Yes, Pharaoh." they said in unison.

That was the last thing I remember before I blacked out.

* * *

I woke up thirsty, my whole body aching

_I feel like I've been ran over by an army of wolf youkais and lived to tell the miserable tale._

That's when I remembered the well and everything after it.

_No, not an army of wolves. A single assassin. I wonder what dad would say about me protecting a human. _I shivered at the realistic image of my father's face in rage_. I better not tell him..._

I looked around, trying to find someone who would explain what the heck happened after I passed out, but there was no one. _Great. Even seeing Mana sounds good right now._

I was in a room that was half as big as the Throne Room. By the intricate carvings and paintings on the walls, it was a room of someone important.

I took in the king-sized canopy bed with see-through curtains, a table too big to be only for one person, four chairs, a stool, a wardrobe, mirror and a few statues of different animals. Everything was delicately decorated with gold and precious gems, which shined brightly when the sunlight coming from the balcony caressed them.

I moved a little to the right, craning my neck to see onto the balcony, without success.

Wincing, I got up from the huge, comfortable cotton-cushioned basket I was laying in and padded to the balcony.

The view from it was breathtaking as it was overlooking the eastern gardens.

An unexpected plus was that, the fresh air helped me ease the ache in my abused muscles.

_Much better._ I moaned as I stretched, my front paws and neck first, then my back and legs.

_Now, I wonder where is everyone..._ it was only two hours after dawn and already I couldn't sense anyone of the Pharaoh's group anywhere nearby.

I stood on my two legs and rested my front paws on the railing of the balcony and leant forward to better see the gardens. There was no one there, which didn't help to lift my spirits any.

_I'll have to hunt them down. _I thought, jumping down from the balcony and into the gardens.

_Where should I start?_ It was still an early morning, meaning they weren't in the Throne Room yet. The air was still chilly, which ruled out any of the gardens. The Baths and training grounds were out for the same reason. On the other hand it was too sunny for them to sleep-in. That left only one logical place for them to be in. _The dining hall._

I took the same path I did when I was trying to escape, until I got to the corridor where I bumped into the Pharaoh. From there, I used my memory to lead me to my final destination.

I stared at the familiar door and tried to figure out how to open it. _If I remember correctly, it opens inward._ I pushed one of the door wings and it obliged.

_Found them! _I thought with a sense of satisfaction and watched in amusement as everyone's heads turned to gape at me. I grinned at them (read: showed them my fangs) and trotted up to my place.

The Pharaoh looked down at me and raised an eyebrow. "Shimon. I thought the healers told you she wouldn't recover sooner than in seven days. If ever."

"That is exactly what they told me, Your Highness." answered the old man wearing a purple hat.

"Then how do you explain this?" asked the ruler, gesturing to me all the while trying to suppress a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"A miracle?" piped up Shimon, looking as uncertain as I've ever seen him.

"Maybe the poison didn't work right because it was designated to kill humans." thought Mana out loud.

"Maybe." said Aknadin, glaring at me as if he suspected something.

"Still, it's interesting she woke up after only three days." commented the man with scale.

_Three days?!_ I screamed in my head. _What kind of poison was it?! _I frowned. _No, that's not important right now. What's important is who would want to kill the Pharaoh using such a strong poison._

"I agree with Karim." spoke up Isis. "It is most unusual. Also, the signs of her high intelligence make me wonder whether she really is a simple leopard."

"What are you implying, Isis?" asked the Pharaoh gravely.

"I think we should use the Millennium Items to judge her."

The silence that ensued her words was scary.

"Do all of you agree, my friends?" questioned my purple-eyed superior.

"It is your decision to make, Pharaoh." said Shada.

The man in question stared into my guileless and curious eyes, his mind in chaos.

The chaos reflected in his dark orbs turned into resolve as he announced his decision. "Karim. You will be the one to judge her. If her soul is pure, I do not care what she is."

"Yes, Your Highness." the man said and stood up from his seat, heading into my direction with the golden scale ready in his hand.

I gulped. _Time to find out whether there exists such a thing as an innocent demon. _The sarcastic remark did nothing to ease my fear.

The scale glowed as Karim stood before me and placed the scale on my chest, right over my heart. I gulped one last time and closed my eyes.

"Impossible!" cried out several people as I felt something shift and brush my fur. When no one tried to chop off my head or do something like that, I opened my eyes.

Everyone looked shocked, some of them more than the others. I glanced questioningly at the man before me, but he wasn't looking at me, only frowning at his scale. As it was obvious he wouldn't tell what the commotion was about, I turned to the Pharaoh. He looked just as shocked as everyone else, but he smiled at me when our eyes met.

"You passed." he said and I threw my paws over the armrest of his chair and licked his face, not realizing what the hell I was doing. He merely laughed and tried to pry my furry head from his face.

"She passed?" asked Isis with an uncharacteristic smirk plastered on her face. "You're making light of her accomplishment. She managed to tilt the scale the way it had never before. Even the feather has more sins than her." she finished with a chuckle.

I grinned and went to her, placing my head in her lap, purring. She caressed my head hesitantly and then took my head in her hands, lifting a bit so that she could look me in the eyes, as if searching for something.

"I look forward to the day you show us your other form." she whispered so low only I could hear it.

I studied her for a few seconds and nodded in understanding. _What's the point of denying it if she already knows?_

"Meriss." I withdrew from Isis and went back to my place as I was silently asked to. "Once you finish your breakfast, meet me at Salitis'. Your collar is ready." I nodded in understanding at which the Pharaoh patted my head and stood up, leaving me to my extra bloody and extra raw breakfast.


	7. Fight For Life

**Chapter 7: Fight For Life**

Salitis's workshop looked exactly like it had almost three days ago.

It was littered with various deformed metal objects starting with weapons and ending with what looked like cauldrons. There was no visible system of their assorting, only piles of metal upon metal.

And in the middle of the chaos sat the blacksmith with Pharaoh standing behind him, looking at something in the blacksmith's hands.

I stealthily walked up to them, stood on my legs and playfully rested my front paws on the Pharaoh's back.

He, surprisingly, didn't stumble only swayed a little before he stood his ground again and frowned at me over his shoulder. I gave him a not-so-innocent look, enjoying myself thoroughly.

He raised his right hand and patted my paw on his left shoulder, all the while scowling at me falsely. I took a step back, falling back on all four.

"How one as big as you can sneak up on me, I will never understand." he shook his head.

I blinked and gave him the 'innocent' look again. This time, it worked as I wanted it to and he laughed.

"Are you sure you are not a dog?" he asked between chuckles.

I smirked inwardly. _I never said I wasn't. After all, that would be a lie._

That's when the thin, dark-blue-haired blacksmith jumped to his feet, scaring the hell out of us both.

"It's done!" he cried out, caressing the silver object in his hands. Salitis then handed it to the stunned Pharaoh.

My breath caught in my throat at its beauty.

It was made of some silver metal I've never seen before and its shape was that of an oddly bent circlet. On its front part was the eye everyone of the Pharaoh's close court bore. On each side of the eye was one crescent moon, the two of them mirror images. From the crescent moons sprouted vine-like ornaments carved into the metal, leading all the way to the back of the circlet.

However, the true craftsmanship lay in the claw-like pieces of metal hanging from the oval, with the biggest one right under the eye and the smallest ones 2 inches away from the moon on each side. Only when I came closer did I notice that in the centre of the eye was an amethyst of the same shade as my eye colour.

There was no doubt in my mind it was the collar. I couldn't think of any other purpose for this personification of uniqueness.

And I absolutely loved it. _ The only question is whether it will fit me..._

"Magnificent work." admitted the Pharaoh.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Now, Meriss. How about you try it on?" My eyes lit up like two violet stars and I practically leapt at the purple-eyed man, impatient.

The man chuckled but obliged. He knelt down before me and started sliding the circlet over my head, onto my neck, where it belonged.

The Pharaoh checked whether the 'collar' wasn't too loose, but I knew it fit perfectly.

When he nodded at me I backed away from him and craned my neck to various directions just to see if it would hinder my movement. To my utter inner bliss, it didn't. Not even when I jumped or rolled over. I almost didn't feel it.

Deciding that the weird-looking guy was a genius worthy of my respect, I jumped at the man and knocked him over, nuzzling his face and purring endlessly.

"I think that means she likes it." said a velvety baritone I got so used to, amusement rolling from his aura in waves.

_I more than just 'like' it. I love it!_

I carried on with the nuzzling until the man under me started pushing me off him. Deciding to give him some room to breathe, I got off him, only to come face-to-face with a greatly amused Pharaoh.

His eyes twinkled enticingly and I couldn't help but stare at them, which almost resulted in me overhearing him calling out my nickname.

"Meriss." I tilted my head to the side, a sign I was listening to him. "Now that you have the collar, no one will bother you. Therefore you are free to explore the palace on your own." I kept looking at him, feeling the hesitation at the end of his proclamation."Though I would advise you to return to my chambers and rest," he added after a while. I did not miss the worried look he tried to quickly cover up and grinned to myself.

"I have to return to the throne room as there are still many messengers and ambassadors requesting an audience with me."

_What?! More audiences?! That's crazy! There should be no more after that assassination attempt!_

Some of my anger and bewilderment must have shown in my eyes because the Pharaoh answered my question as if he had read my mind.

"The attack is exactly the reason why I must continue to accept visitors. We cannot afford to appear weak and locking up in the palace after only one attack would be considered cowardly." I smirked as I almost heard the silent 'But I sure as hell would appreciate the break' that was surely the finishing sentence to his speech.

_I kind of pity the guy. To suddenly gain so many responsibilities must be tough._ It was easy to conclude from all the tributes he got from the neighbouring countries that he was only recently appointed as the ruler.

_Not that I know anything of those responsibilities._

I was the only one from my siblings who hadn't been made into one of the High Generals of my father's army, despite the fact I was more than capable of handling the job if Kei's words were anything to go by.

I just never felt like the rise in military ranks would make me happier or give me the sense of fulfilment I missed so much. The only thing it would probably give me would be constant exhaustion, stress and countless arguments with my division.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of a door closing, meaning the Pharaoh already left.

I nodded at the now-seated blacksmith one last time before I also headed out, intent on learning everything there was to know about this vast place.

I found the guard room, weaponry, prison cells, treasure room, servants' rooms, several guest rooms currently occupied by the ambassadors and their troops, kitchen and four more gardens. _Seriously, how many gardens do these people need?_

Then, I went on to the Pharaoh's private wing. There was his personal bedroom, game room, bath, garden, office, music room and temple.

_Private temple? _I actually had to return to that one twice until I finally believed my eyes. _What, praying at the gigantic temple I can see right outside in the courtyard is not good enough?_

I got my answer soon enough as I strolled there, puzzled by the lack of any living presence inside the building. _Shouldn't there be a priest or priestess?_

The outside of the temple looked normal and the guards standing right outside of it also didn't look any different from the ones I met till now, which only strengthened the sense of wrongness in me.

My suspicions were confirmed once I opened the door and was almost overwhelmed by the evil energy coiling around me and suffocating me. I shivered as I willed my paws to move forward.

There, at the centre of the greatest hall of the unnamed temple stood stone tablets depicting various monsters, each more gruesome and disgusting than the previous one.

I stopped before the one showing some kind of a bird with extremely sharp claws. I stared at it for a moment, remembering the one time the Phoenix Lord of South visited my father's castle.

_Such an eerie resemblance._ I thought and almost got a heart attack when the bird's eyes moved to watch me. They glowed bloody red with something akin to interest reflected in them before the light faded out and they went dormant again.

_Okay, I have no idea what the hell was that, but I'm not staying around to find out. _With that, I sprinted out of the building, stopping only to slam the door closed using my weight.

_Whatever the creatures trapped in the tablets are, and whatever these people are planning to do with them, I got a hunch it isn't a good idea._

After that encounter with the creepy thing, I lost my appetite, making me skip lunch. Instead, I headed to the Eastern gardens, which were quickly becoming my favourite place. Though the plants growing there weren't anything like the ones we had back at home, the sound of rustling trees and the water flowing in the fountain reminded me of it.

I pushed a tiny amount of youki into my legs and jumped onto the roof of the palace, right above the Pharaoh's balcony with the view of the gardens. Absent-mindedly, I noticed that the little stunt with my youki took out more of me than it should have. _Guess the Pharaoh was right when he said I should rest._

Ignoring the problem for now, I lazily stretched out on the roof tiles, revelling in the feel of the hot and dry weather trying to intimidate me. I basked in the sunlight, feeling that this was exactly what my recovering body needed.

Mum used to tell I inherited my unusual love of the sun from my leopard ancestors and I was starting to believe her words. After all, I had never met a single youkai who felt just as good in the direct sunlight as they did in the moonlight. From all I knew, I was the only one who could honestly say that they loved both just as much.

Here, in this extremely hot land, I felt strangely at peace. _Shame mum isn't here with me, _I thought and immediately regretted it. The seemingly innocent wish brought me closer to the depressing reality.

_I might not see her ever again, _flashed through my mind and I had the sudden urge to slap myself. _Of course I'll see her!_ I growled at myself, pulling myself together. _I just have to think of myself as Kagome. She, too, got dragged down the damned well and was able to return to her world once she completed her mission! _

Which led me to believe that I, too, had a mission I had to fulfil in this strange place. However, unlike Kagome, I knew a little more than nothing of this place. And she knew where the well was, allowing her to travel back and forth. I did not have such a luxury. I was brought to the palace already unconscious, transformed into a strange hybrid of my true form and on top of it all, I couldn't even understand these people's language. _Damn it I even had to use a youkai spell in front of humans just to understand what they were saying!_

I breathed in and out, calming down a bit. _Just my luck._ I sighed, knowing this kind of thinking would get me nowhere. _I'm in a country called Egypt, most probably in the past as they still use spears and not swords, and I have a mission to fulfil here. That's all I need to know. Everything else is irrelevant, _ I told myself determinedly as I jumped off the roof, thirst driving me to take a sip from the fountain.

I was mere three feet away from the fountain when it exploded.

_What the-? _With widening eyes I realized there was no way for me to dodge or block the debris as I was still weakened by the poison's effect. Helplessly, I watched as a particularly large piece of stone was nearing my head.

_Just my luck. _I repeated sarcastically.

To my relief, a barrier appeared around me, keeping any of the debris from actually hitting me. I recognized the energy from which it was made of instantly.

_Mahad. _I thought gratefully.

And I was right. As soon as the dust cleared up I could see the Magician standing on my left, approximately two hundred feet away. My eyes narrowed and I had to fight a snarl as I noticed the person standing by him.

_Mana._

It all made sense then. The little apprentice, as it appeared, disregarded the Pharaoh's advice and tried out that freezing spell on her own again. Her control over her energy must have slipped, which resulted in her freezing spell turning into a very unstable one. Adding that up to the reaction between the searing hot fountain stone and abruptly-turned icy-cold water, we got the beautiful explosion.

I made my way to the now arguing pair, trying my best not to appear as furious as I felt.

"I order you to drop the spell, Mana. You have caused enough damage already."

"But Mahad!" whined the girl. "How can move onto the next level if I can't even perform such an easy spell?"

"There is no need for you to master all of the spells. Besides, ice is clearly not your element."

The girl's aura wavered with uncertainty slightly. "But Isis's element is water and she has no problem whatsoever performing the earth and fire spells..." she pouted.

"Mana, how many times do I have to tell you that you are not Isis, nor Seto? Every person is different."

"One last time." pleaded Mana with her puppy eyes focused solely on her master. "Let me try it just one last time and if it doesn't work, I will promise not to use any ice magic ever again."

Mahad rubbed his temples, visibly frustrated. "You have one last chance," he said.

My jaw dropped in shock and disbelief. _You can't be serious, Mahad! _I shrieked in my head, staring at the man before me incredulously.

When he noticed me, he sighed exasperatedly. "Don't stare at me like that, leopard. You know just as well as I do that she won't give up the spell until she either kills someone or blows up one last thing."

This time I glared daggers at him and frowned even harder once I turned to the blabbermouth who was beaming at her master as if she hadn't heard his comment.

I sent the magician one last look that clearly said 'Hope you know what you're doing' and followed the potentially dangerous girl as she made her way to a smaller fountain located at the southern corner of the gardens.

Mana stopped fifty feet from her target, Mahad behind her with me beside him. I figured that if I wanted to be sure my life was not in danger, I had to keep the girl in my sight.

I watched, bored as she started chanting and gathering her energy in the palm of her right hand. With every word she uttered, her energy turned into a paler shade of blue, until it was purely white. Then, she opened her eyes and readied her arm to throw the ball of freezing energy.

Just as she was about to release it, the sphere pulsed and slipped from her hand.

I reacted instinctively and pushed Mahad out of the way. As a result, the freezing spell hit me squarely on the back.

I hissed as I felt the cold spread from my back to my legs, torso and paws.

_Oh great. I'm going to turn into an icicle._

The evaluation itself was sarcastic but it made something within me snap. Rage was taking over me, all the bottled confusion, uncertainty, fear and frustration sprung free, fuelling the scorching anger until it turned into a pure dark purple pulsing energy enveloping my body, defrosting my frozen limbs.

_Why the fuck does this always happen to me?!_ I growled. _I've been here for four days out of which I remember only few hours and already I had been captured, attacked, poisoned, almost caught up in an explosion and frozen!_

The angrier I got, the quicker the ice defrosted and in no time, I was almost back to normal.

Well, not exactly back to normal as I was _a bit_ more ruffled up than before. Not to mention my inner beast raging, craving blood and carnage.

Sighing, and more than a little unwillingly, I admitted me going on a rampage wouldn't solve anything, so I set out to calm the primal part of me.

_Come on, kitty. Stop this charade. You know as well as I do that you'll get the taste of blood soon enough. With all the assassins lurking around..._

I couldn't help the amused smile that played on my face as I heard the beast huff and let me take control. After all, she was me. I knew exactly how much she missed the battle. I did too.

_Now that I think about it, when was the last time I really fought?_ There were the few spars I had with my father (which I had lost almost immediately every time), then couple with Naoto (which were more like sibling tease), two or three fights with Rei and one with Kei.

Those with the twins being the most memorable as I won them all. It frustrated my 7-year-older siblings to no end and that made it more enjoyable. Rei would shoot me some nasty looks after I beat her up and Kei refused to talk to me for nearly three months after his loss. The first thing he did say, though, was that he would never battle me again.

All of those fights were useful, fun and painful more often than not, but none of them compared to a _true_ battle. None of them were like the one with Takeo.

_**Flashback**_

"_Why?!" I growled, wiping the blood flowing from my shallow neck wound with the back of my left hand, the other flexing with tension._

"_Why what?" Takeo asked, his voice levelled and smooth, just as it always had been._

"_Why did you attack Naoto?!" I screamed and tried to control the trembling of my limbs as my emotions swayed me. It wouldn't do to be controlled by my emotions, even more so when I knew that was exactly his intention._

_I glanced to my left, at the huddled form of my unconscious little brother lying on the floor._

"_Isn't that obvious?" Takeo snarled, showing his true face for the first time."That little vermin," he looked at Naoto, unbelievably strong disgust reflected in his features, "that piece of scum stole what's mine!" he bellowed, his eyes turning into the alarming red._

"_Don't you dare call my brother a scum!" I hissed at him, my youki spiking with the intense hate I started feeling towards my once best friend._

"_I'll call him what I want! That worm destroyed my life! He does not even deserve to live, not to mention being called anything else than a piece of shit!"_

_The older male then sprung at me, his claws aiming for my neck. _

_I back-flipped, kicking his chin at the process. This gave me the element of surprise and I used it, twirling around and using my youki to rotate the air around my hand. Quickly, I sent the slicing whirlwind to his chest, but he managed to dodge it, though not fully. His left shoulder was cut and bleeding heavily. He growled at me and started to change into his true form. I reacted immediately._

_I pulled Fuyunoyo from its sheath and lunged at my opponent. He parried my sword with his sword made of pure youki. I jumped back, pulling out Natsunoyo, knowing I had no chance of winning without using both of my fang-swords. _

_The ryuu youkai used that moment to complete his transformation. There, instead of the man I thought I knew so well, stood a feral-looking emerald dragon. I pushed the awe I felt at the sight into the back of my mind and took on a defensive stance, evaluating the situation. _

I have to stall him long enough for father to notice the explosion of his youki. _I gritted my teeth in frustration as I realized I had no idea how long it would take him to notice his advisor had transformed outside of his castle. _

Okay, Miya, you have to do this. Naoto's counting on you, _I repeated in my mind, giving myself the push I needed to actually move to attack. _

_I pushed my highly condensed youki into the swords, making them poisonous, and jumped into air, surprising Takeo momentarily. I fell down on his head and lodged both of my swords into his enormous yellow serpent eye. He howled out in pain and started trashing around. I gritted my teeth in concentration as I gripped my swords tighter, trying to keep myself from falling off. When the overly-grown lizard realized I wasn't moving, he brought up his paw and tried to grab me. In an instant, I pulled out my swords and jumped off. _

Damn it. _My palms were bleeding but I paid them no heed. I glanced at Naoto to make sure he was all right. He was still unconscious but his heart was beating steadily, which meant he was okay._

_Abruptly, something hard connected with my left side, broke four of my ribs and sent me flying towards the treeline. I crashed into a very old tree and flew right through it and a few more. The flying bark and pieces of wood gave me cuts all over my body and the contact with the hard surface broke my right arm in several places, making me drop Fuyunoyo somewhere along the way._

_It took me a while to realize I finally stopped flying and was sprawled on roots of the last tree I crashed into. I coughed up blood and almost puked as I tried to scramble to my feet. The pain of my broken ribs moving inside me was blinding and only my sheer will made me continue to stand up._

"_Stupid girl," said an overly familiar voice in front of me. I watched in horror as the dragon's one healthy eye glared down at me with something akin to sadistic glee. "Dropping your guard like that... One would think you would be more careful after challenging a youkai who's more than two hundred years older than you." I cringed at the taunting but pointed Natsunoyo at him with my healthy hand nonetheless. I ignored the truth of his words, I ignored the pain and I most definitely ignored his amused look._

"_SO WHAT IF I'M JUST 24?! SO WHAT IF I'M INEXPERIENCED?! I'M STILL GOING TO CUT YOUR HEAD OFF FOR HURTING MY FAMILY!" I shouted, my fury breaking the dam I used to keep the strong emotion reined in._

_The sky above us darkened with clouds, thunder roaring ominously. I let a feral grin spread across my face, not caring I would most probably die using this technique. As long as it meant the bastard died, I didn't care. My youki swirled around me heavily, seeping into the ground, floating in the air, coating the trees around me in a purple haze, painting the grass in the colour of my poison._

_Sensing something amiss, Takeo dug his claws into earth, looking down at me, trying to desperately figure out what was going on._

_I snickered and started chanting._

"_With this blood of mine, I call upon you, the earth of Western Lands. With the blood of your guardian, I command you, fulfil your contract and purge this land of evil that has hurt the ones tied to you. Eradicate the one unwilling to bend to the Law of Ages and bring peace back to us."_

_The ground underneath my legs shook, the thunders roared louder, the wind picked up and ruffled my bloodied clothes and tresses._

I'm sorry, dad. In the end, I broke my promise. _I smiled sadly as the Western Land listened to my silent plea and showed me the images of my beloved ones._

_Father was on his way, running as fast as he could, worry showing on his usually stoic face. _Goodbye, Father.

_Mother was sitting in the garden, frowning at the dark patch of clouds she could see in the distance. _Goodbye, Mother.

_Rin was in the middle of her dancing session, when she fell out of step and clutched at her heart._

Goodbye, Rin.

_Kei and Rei were in the middle of sparring, when Rei dropped her sword and fell to her knees, whispering my name. _Goodbye, Kei. Goodbye, Rei.

_The last image was of Naoto. He stirred and opened his eyes, no pain reflected in them. Sign that he was unhurt. _Goodbye, Naoto.

_I closed my eyes as I felt my body tingle in an unfamiliar way and my body floated in the air._

"_Kill him." I sent out the last command, feeling very satisfied when I heard Takeo's pained shouts accompanied with the sound of thunderbolts hitting their target, winds slicing his hard skin, ground splitting underneath his body and swallowing him._

**End of flashback**

Yes, the spars could not compare to the fight with Takeo. Even though I won only by using a forbidden technique that should have by all means killed me, the rush of the fight to death was unmistakable.

As I felt the last of my muscles defrosting, I chased off the thoughts of fight, called off my once again feeble youki and looked around.

Mahad laid stunned just where I left him. He was staring at me with awe and fear battling on his face.

Mana was standing by Mahad's side, trembling and looking in my direction with too wide eyes.

_At least they both look alright, _I noted and welcomed the dark oblivion that came to claim me.


	8. Questionable Trust

**Author's Note: **Yuuki-desu! Hey guys! I'm posting this chappie after a very long period of hesitation. Why, you might ask. Well, it's short and after I tried to make it longer, I found I couldn't. So as to ensure that I can practically start writing the new chapter from scratch, I'll be leaving it like this, mere 5 pages long. Hope you won't mind... Also, I'd like to warn that this will be a VERY long story and I've got it mostly planned out, but unfortunately, in order to do that, I'm going to have to make this crossover a three-way one. I am going to use few mentions from Yu Yu Hakusho as well. There will not be appearances of main characters, nor do I find it necessary for you to watch it if you haven't already. Do comment if you agree or not. If the feedback is mainly negative, I'll try to change the plot a little, though it seems highly improbable right now.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Questionable Trust**

"_Ne, Miya-neechan..._"_ came an uncertain sounding voice from the branch above the one I was sitting on._

"_Hm?" I answered, not tearing my gaze from the match between Dad and Kei. The younger male barely managed to keep up with the elder's speed, therefore failed to dodge any of his attacks completely. He was now sporting a deep gash on his right hip, shallow but greatly bleeding cut on his cheek, broken left wrist and claw marks on his back._

Dad sure isn't going easy on him... _I observed._

"_I was wondering... Why are you the only one whose leopard blood is stronger than inu?" I chuckled at the embarrassment with which he asked. _

"_And how am I supposed to know that, Naoto?" I shot back at him, amused by the blush painting his cheeks._

"_I-I just find it strange..."_

"_I do too." I admitted and grinned right after, having thought of something. _"_You know, we could make a bet._"

_The white-haired, emerald-eyed boy leaned forward to peer at me suspiciously. _

_I made no move to look at him but I did hear him shift nervously. "A bet?" he squeaked, clearly scared of the idea._

"_Yes. We can bet whether our next sibling will be inu or leopard."_

_My ten-years-younger brother swayed a little on his spot, probably bewildered by the idea of our parents having another pup or cub._

"_You think they're going to have more kids?" he asked hopefully and I had to stifle a laugh._

"_Of course, silly. They've been mated for mere 45 years. They are bound to have more offspring."_

_I gave him a few seconds for that to sink in and spoke later, when his shock lessened. "I say the next one will be leopard."_

_Naoto smirked at me knowingly. "Is it just your wish or do you really think so?"_

_I sighed, my ears flattening on top of my head in defeat. "Okay, you got me. I really doubt it'll be leopard but my word stands nonetheless. So, do you accept the bet or not?"_

_His guileless eyes bore into mine as he smiled. "And what will be the prize?" he asked._

_I thought about it for a while, my eyes sliding back to the fight. Kei managed to get a slash at Dad, his fang-sword lodging itself in the taiyoukai's shoulder. I cringed inwardly just as I did every time one of them got hurt and gripped the branch I was sitting on tighter, its bark cracking and falling off under the pressure of my hands. Despite that, I did not interfere._

"_I don't know. You name something." I offered unhelpfully._

_Naoto's answer came all too quickly and cheerfully. "Then, how about the loser has to accompany the winner on whatever trip he wants to go on?"_

"_You are still set on that hot spring resort, aren't you?" I teased him. "But I guess it will do. It's not like I've thought of anything better."_

_The boy jumped to his feet in delight, chirping happily. "Then, a bet it is, Nee-chan."_

_I smiled at him. "Indeed. A bet it is."_

* * *

I woke up, not entirely sure what disturbed the sweet dream I had about my past. Too lazy to get up, I kept my eyes closed and begged the sleep to come claim me again, when I heard the voices. I tried to ignore them but their volume kept rising exponentially with one of the voice's anger.

"-get it now, Mana? Ice is **definitely** not your element and I forbid you to try use it **ever** again."

I was a bit surprised at the sharp tone Mahad used with the girl, but then I remembered what happened and couldn't find it in me to pity her.

_She DID almost freeze me to death._ I clarified to myself.

"I understand." was her soft reply and I could practically see the brown-haired teenager with her head hung low in shame.

_Well, at least I won't get frozen by her again AND I now know I wasn't out for that long. Few seconds maybe._

Not wanting to startle them unnecessarily, I shifted gently, then rolled over and yawned as if I had just woken up from a very good nap. At last, I opened my eyes.

The scene before me was exactly how I expected it to be. Cute and funny. Mana was emanating guilt so thick you could almost taste it and Mahad was beyond himself with anger.

I snorted animally and scrambled up from the ground. Mahad, hearing the noise, cast one last lecturing look at Mana and turned his attention (unfortunately) to me.

"And you, Meriss, also aren't off the hook yet. After I make sure none of your internal organs have been damaged, I will think of a suitable punishment for you for not following the healers' instructions."

I rolled my eyes at the guy's antics and prayed that after his tirade, my brain would stay intact. He, in return, glared at me for the action and sighed once he realized I wouldn't say 'yes sir'.

He bent down to my level and gathered his energy in his palm, gently probing my body with it, looking for any internal damage. I knew there was none but I wasn't about to share that with him. He would find that out on his own anyways, so it did not matter.

I swear I jumped a few feet when the magician abruptly stopped his inspection and hid his face in his hands. "Thank Ra, you are unhurt." he said with so much feeling, I thought he would faint from its intensity. "The Pharaoh wouldn't let me live it down if you died because I was too soft on Mana." He looked at me, his eyes confusing mix of emotions.

The female in question just stood behind her teacher with her face flashing between ghastly white and sickly green as some kind of realization struck her with Mahad's words.

Unfortunately, I, too had my own unpleasant revelation which consisted mostly of the Pharaoh tying me to the basket I woke in earlier that day, saying something about 'having to get rest'.

The fact that the ruler that posed in all of our little group's personal nightmares rounded the corner at that exact moment certainly did not help to ease our fears.

I was the first to notice his presence. My muscles instantly tensed but I forced to appear nonchalant, bored even. As if I did not want to bolt any second.

Mana was the next to take note of our new companion. If it was even possible, she seemed to look more nauseous.

_Poor girl. This must be really bad for her heart._

"Mahad." spoke the Pharaoh sternly, his eyes darting around to study his surroundings.

The magician squinted up at the young man, his face turning into impenetrable, emotionless mask once he recognized the newcomer.

"Pharaoh." he sent back, his tone guarded.

"I demand to know what happened here."

Mahad frowned. "What do you mean, Your Highness?"

My purple-eyes 'owner' crossed his arms on his chest, no sign of exasperation I could feel from his aura showing. "First, I heard an explosion. Then roaring and lastly, I felt the abrupt spike of an unfamiliar and very angry Ka."

I froze in horror as his words sunk in. _He's able to not only feel the energies but auras too?_

_Oh hell._ I cursed inwardly. _He has probably known I wasn't a leopard from the beginning. _

That thought made up my mind about staying behind and listening to Mahad fidget and try to explain why he had allowed Mana to try that ice spell one more time, only to get himself almost killed. Decision made, I tried to sneak away.

I was half-way to the archway leading to the vast maze of corridors when something grabbed my collar from behind, yanking me back and making me yelp in a very embarrassing and surprised manner. One choked sniff told me that it was no one else than the ungrateful magician.

My eyes widened. _Please, __don't __tell me he'__s __going to rat me out!_

My silent plea not granted, I was dragged up to the Pharaoh's waiting form and dropped right by his feet. I groaned, sent the traitor my infamous death glare and breathed in heavily, readying myself for what was to come.

"What is the meaning of this, Mahad?" questioned the tricolour-haired man as his eyebrows rose with genuine curiosity and he peered down at me.

"This," started the magician triumphantly, "is the source of the unfamiliar Ka."

_Well damn._

My 'owner's' stern gaze turned to me, regarding me with coolness I wasn't used to being directed at me. "Explain." he ordered curtly, not taking his eyes off my little and dare I say, cowering form.

"Mana was all too adamant to try that freezing spell even after your well-meant advice, so she sneaked into the Eastern gardens and managed to blow up the lotus fountain. Meriss was almost caught in the explosion and it was only thanks to my quick thinking that she was unharmed. Afterwards, I made a deal with Mana."

"What kind of deal?" inquired the Pharaoh as he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in a manner that spoke of an oncoming headache.

Mana decided at that moment to add her little bit to the conversation. "Ma-Mahad said he would he would let me try it one last time and that if it didn't work, I would give up on all ice-based spells and chants."

It was plain to see that the young ruler was slowly putting the puzzle pieces together and that he would figure it out in no time.

"I take it that the spell got out of hand. But how does it relate to the burst of Ka?"

I squirmed uncomfortably, weighing my options.

Upon hearing the truth, the Pharaoh could either try to make me reveal my identity, use me as a weapon, or deem me a spy or a dangerous creature and give out the order of my execution.

_Or he could decide to trust you and keep you around despite not knowing what you are._ whispered a hopeful voice in my head.

My muscles tensed once again and I clenched my jaw as I was waiting for the inevitable to happen.

"Mana slipped and the spell was headed in my direction." Mahad's dark blue eyes rested on me for a few seconds, until some kind of an emotion I did not recognize shone in them. "Meriss pushed me out of the way and got hit instead. When her body started freezing over, her Ka fluctuated violently and then exploded outwards furiously, nullifying effects of Mana's spell."

Silence that reined after that last sentence seemed to last forever as everyone regarded me thoughtfully, almost calculatingly.

The purple-eyed man held my future in his hands and it made me feel curiously hopeless and more than a little bit defeated. It was as if this man's decision was what would decide the course of my life, my fate.

And my logic was telling me there was no way he'd trust me.

With as much defiance as I could muster, I watched as the Pharaoh's demeanor slowly changed into one of an indifference. "I see." he said uncaringly.

_Huh?_

"Mahado, please see to it that once Meriss has fully recovered, you test her magical abilities."

The magician's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape in silent shock. "Your Highness?"

Pointedly ignoring one of his priests, he continued. "If she proves worthy, she is to undergo the Summoning Ceremony and be given the title of Holy Beast."

"B-but, Pharaoh! Isn't it too risky to put so much trust into a mere leopard we know nothing of?"

I took a step back in what I would later admit to be fear as the ruler's gaze bore deeply into the eyes of his friend, darkness and fires of anger mingling into something capable of scaring even me.

"Are you questioning my decision, Priest?"

Mana and Mahado both shuddered at the coldness permeating those words, primal instincts telling them to bow to their leader's will.

"She has saved my life. She is not to be treated any worse than human royalty we house these days. Is that understood?"

Two pairs of synchronized 'Yeses' were heard, making the Pharaoh nod in satisfaction before he turned on his heel, leaving us all feeling utterly high-strung and relieved, all at the same time.


End file.
